The Girl of the Wild
by Girlsluvsuperheroes
Summary: A young woman with mysterious dreams & animal abilities is taken from her home by the Justice League for questioning on the strange disappearance of Green Arrow's brother & his wife. But she has no memory of her past & is haunted by the mysterious man with the scar. As the days go on, she discovers the truth & falls in love with the man who helped her through it all. But who is he?
1. Chapter 1 The Dream and Reality

The Dream and Reality

**All rights go to DC and the creators of Justice Leage and Young Justice. I only own my OC and her parents and her animals family.**

I ran as fast as I could, there was a burning heat all around me. The flames were licking at my skin, and I could see it slowly burning the small hairs from my arms. I screamed and kept running. I had to get out, I had to, but there was no escape. No escape from this terrible, terrible place. The flames were getting closer to me, and I could hear the wooden beams of the house slowly creaking from the pressure. Where was I? This place was seemingly familiar. Looking around the room I observed my surroundings. It was a clay house with wooden supporting beams and one of the few rooms I was in had a wooden table in one corner with some matching chairs. I guessed it was the living room as well as the kitchen. There was a large bowl and pitcher in the far right corner on a small counter.

I continued to run. I had to get out of here. I just had to. I kept repeating this in my mind. But, there was no way to escape, the fiery flames were everywhere, they were surrounding. My heart was racing rapidly, beyond normal speed. The flames were taking away my supply of air, there was no escaping this. I crouched down and hugged my knees. I was going to die here, in this very room, among the flames. Despite the scorching heat, I began weeping wildly. My whole body was aching and trembling from the fire.

"Please, don't cry." I looked up from my burnt hands; tears were still streaming down my face. Who had spoken? There was a small slender woman near me by the burning table. She had long blonde hair and fair skin with kind, caring blue eyes. She wasn't in pain, nor was she burning. The mysterious, but familiar woman was just staring down kindly at me. "Who… Who are you?" I squeaked through my gasping throat. I was confused. How had this strange woman gotten here and why was she not burning? "It's going to be alright, my _Moyo._ It's going to be alright." The woman was now next to me, clutching me in her arms. She was trying to calm me down.

I studied her as her arms were wrapped around me. Why had she called me 'my Moyo,' or my heart? Her hair was pulled back in a long braid, and, although we were in a burning house about to face our death, she was calm, determined even. This woman had a strength in her that I could not understand, but I felt comforted by her. Just as I was beginning to feel as though we would die here, in this very place, I heard a crashing sound coming from in-front of me. I looked away from the woman's face to see a large blonde man standing in the fiery doorway. His expression changed from determination to anguish when his green eyes found us. He ran towards us, knocking over fallen and burning wood and objects from the house to try to get towards us. Just when the man was near to us with his arms out, a large beam fell before him. Cinders and flames shot from it towards me and the woman. I screamed as loud as my throat could manage when the flames from the large wooden beam reached towards my outstretched arm that was towards the man.

I heard a masculine voice calling me, it was his voice. But, it was panicked. "You have to listen to me, please," he pleaded to me. "You can do this; just reach as far as you can again. I'll get you, I promise." Who was this man and why did I feel as if I knew him and this lady surrounding me? Why did they not just get out while they could? I remained silent and looked back to the woman clasping me away from the flames. She gave me a look as if to tell me that everything was going to be okay. And, strangely enough, I believed it. I looked back at the man who had his arms stretching through the little space the fallen beam had not covered. He looked so… so desperate to get me free. It was like he was willing to do anything for me, a girl who did not know who he was, nor this woman. I slowly got up from the woman's protective arms and stumbled towards him. I reached out my burned hand towards his and he grabbed me.

His muscled arms were around me, protecting me from the protruding fire as he carried me towards the door he had entered. "What about her?" I screamed, "YOU CANNOT FORGET HER! Please, please." Again, again and again I was pleading, but this man did not turn around. He kept running towards the door. "If I don't get you out first we'll all parish. You have to trust me. I'll come back to her, I promise." The man kicked aside another fallen and burning piece of wood in-front of the doorway.

We stepped outside of the burning building and the man put me down on the ground. He looked deep into my blue with green eyes. I was still crying, despite the burning heat. He bent down and ordered me sternly to stay outside where it was safe. No matter what I saw or heard, I was to stay outside, where it was safe. And then he was gone… He ran back inside the burning house, back into the inferno. As he entered a large explosion ruptured from the house as the roof collapsed on them. They were gone, each of them gone, gone, and gone, gone forever. The people who had saved my life were now gone in the process. And it was because of me. "NO! NO! This can't happen, please." I cried louder than I ever had. My tear drenched face pointed towards the dark sky. Every single tear that went down my face hurt from my burns. I gave one last shout towards the sky as I blacked out from this horrible nightmare.

I woke up screaming that late morning. I was out of breath and it was hard to get my heart back to its normal rate, even after my screaming had stopped. Looking out of my ragged house, I saw that the sun had risen. The house, which was now more of a shack, was one roomed and had been abandoned many years ago and only consisted of a small mat on the floor, which I used as my bed, and a wash basin and some cabinets. This place was now my home. I looked down at my hands. They were burned, along with the rest of my body. I had had these burns for as long as I could remember. For all I knew I had been born with them, which I knew was impossible. You had to obtain them.

But, the problem was, I didn't remember ever getting burned, let alone getting them all over my body. The only idea I had were the dreams I had been having. Each of them had been me in a house that was, indeed, burning to the ground. The dreams had been getting worse the more and more I had them. Now, it took me minutes to get my heart beating regularly again. But, I had never seen these people in this dream before, people that had risked their own lives to save my insignificant one. But, the weirdest thing was that I felt I knew them. I felt as if they were important people in my life and I could trust them. They couldn't be my parents. As far as I knew my parents had abandoned me when I was an infant, and that's why I didn't remember them. I had been raised by the animals of Africa, and when I was old enough, I was by myself.

"Oh, well. I am busy with my job protecting the animals that raised me as a child." Getting up from my mat on the dusty wooden floor, I walked over to the wash basin and cleaned my face. The water had been put there the night before, which I had gotten from the Runde River a couple of miles away. I put on my brown tattered dress to head out to the closest town to… _acquire_ some food and other necessities. I put on my cheetah mask and left.

As I travelled into the town I remembered the time I got my mask so I could become the protector of my land and the animals that lived there.

_It was very crowded and there were street vendors, merchants, and large groups of people gathered together. The air was musty and arid. People were buying all sorts of goods such as: candies, clothing, jewelry, and fruit. You could hear the shouts of the sellers as they hackled in trying to get the people- tourists- to buy whatever they were selling. I was among them, watching the people as they spent much money on whatever they wanted. I was being pushed and shoved and came across an elderly lady at a stand. She was advertising unique animal masks with delicate detail. The mask I was wearing just consisted of a brown cloth I had made from the same material as my clothing, with little cut-outs for my eyes. My curiosity brought me to the stand, and I saw many African animal masks._

_ I saw an elephant, giraffe, lion, and even a small meerkat mask for a child. Then, my eyes came upon a beautiful cheetah mask. It didn't completely cover the face and stopped just below the cheek bones and nose, leaving the mouth uncovered. The mask was slightly furry and had spots and there were gems around the holes for the eyes. I picked it up cautiously and felt the soft fur with my thumbs. Then, the lady who was selling them came to me after helping a costumer. She was a large black lady about the age of eighty with kind dark brown eyes and a scarf covering some of her hair_. "_Mhoro, tumidza yangu i Nanji," she said. I smiled down at the short woman and put down the mask. Nanji's eyes followed my hands, gave an upset look, and put the mask back in my hands. "Aiwa, aiwa," I told her. I spoke to her in the Shona language, which was the same which she had spoken in. I told her that I had no money and could not pay for the beautiful mask. But, she kept insisting. She told me a beautiful woman who had to hide her identity, such as myself, had a reason and deserved to hide it in a beautiful mask. I finally agreed and went on my way wearing the newly acquired cheetah mask. I now wore it everywhere I went, hoping that I would see Naji again. _

The town was finally near me and it had changed a lot since that day a little over five years ago, when I was only thirteen. The air was now much dirtier from the new factories and large multistory buildings. I did not approve of this, even if it did add jobs to the growing town. It was killing the atmosphere and natural beauty of Zimbabwe. It was making my own job harder and there was less and less land for the animals to live on. Trees were constantly being cut down and more and more tourists and poachers had come. The poachers were killing off the lions and other magnificent large animals. "They do not care. They do not care for these animals. All they want to do is to kill. They bring deforestation and death to the land. They call them wild animals, but they are the true animals." I said this to myself as I grumbled under my breath and balled my fists together. I was almost into the town, my home land was hurting, but the land in the towns and cities were not great either. The government violated the rights to shelter, food, freedom of movement and residence, freedom of assembly and the protection of the law. And I had seen and heard of alleged assaults on the media, the political opposition, and civil society activists. _Are there no heroes anymore? _

I had finally reached my destination and saw a street vendor selling breads and fruit. It was now time to get some food. Yes, I had no money and did not care for the idea of taking my food. But, it was the only way I could think of. It was hard enough to find a job here, let alone one when you wore a mask. When people saw it, they knew you had a secret to hide. Why else would you be wearing it, right? Besides, there were many other people who needed the job more than I. They couldn't take their food like me, or at least, not without being caught. "Good," I thought. "He is looking away; helping a customer, now is my chance."

A large awning was above the stand that looked large enough to hide me. There were a few boxes next to a stand that I could climb on. Silently jumping on them, I used the momentum to kick myself off of the boxes and onto the nearest wall. I dug in my long claw-like nails to the building and kicked off and on top of the awning. Peaking over with my blue with green cat-like eyes I saw the top of the vendor's bald head. "Flexibility of the cobra," I whispered and I felt the blood go faster through my body, and my heart began to beat faster. The bones in my body began to take a different, more flexible shape, and my incisors took the shape of a snake's teeth. I gave a small hiss and bent backwards from the awning to the fruit. The man was facing away from me and I grabbed the nearest piece of fruit- a cantaloupe- and scurried away before letting a small hiss escape my lips. The man turned around, and saw me as I jumped from rooftop to rooftop. "Eh! Iwe didn't bhadhara kuitira rino, mhuka." **"You didn't pay for that, animal."** The man shouted waving his fist in the air, and I gave a mischievous laugh like a hyena for the seller calling me an animal. "Ha! I am, indeed, an animal," I laughed.

I stopped at one of the roofs and sat down as I was about to eat my newly acquired food. Below me was an old man begging for money, there seemed something the matter with him and I crept closer to the edge to have a better view of him. He was a native of the area, very skinny from malnutrition… and was blind! The old man was blind, that was why he was pleading for assistance. I watched the crowd that passed him. The greedy tourists were passing him, acting like he was not even there. I could hear the man mumbling for help, and if there was someone who stopped, they only gave a small amount, not enough to help him even a bit. Anger grew inside me and I balled my fists up tight until my knuckles turned white. "How can they not help him? He is obviously blind! He cannot help himself." I yelled and ran off of the building quickly and swung my body onto a large clothes line. I went down to the ground and when I was close enough I let go. Then, I did a back flip into the air and I landed in-front of the sightless man.

The small cantaloupe was still in my hand and I looked down at it. Compared to the other fruit and food sold here, this was… relatively fresh. I squatted down next to the man and said, "Iwe uno fanira iva nzara. Ida iwe farira amwe cantaloupe? I i obvu." **"You must be hungry. Would you like some cantaloupe? It is fresh." **He gave a meek smile towards me and I took that as yes and gave him a large amount of my fruit, leaving just a little for myself. The remainder of the afternoon I sat with the old man and ended up telling my story. The story of how I became what I am and my powers. I told him of how my parents had left me and I had been taught to use my powers by the animals and they had raised me until I was thirteen years old. Then, I went home; to do what my guardians had asked of me, protect them. That was the least I could do for them after they helped me when no one else would.

The sky was a deep orange color when I got home, and it was a bit colder than earlier. The air was comforting and peaceful, but I knew my job today wasn't over. I still had to protect the animals of Africa, my home land. I walked into my small shack made of clay and straw, it was rustic, but it was what I called home. It only had one window by the mat and the doorway had no door. I walked into my place and grabbed my spear by the cabinets and looked into the small cracked mirror that was left there.

The mask was still on my face and I could see my crystal clear blue eyes with light green around the edge of my irises and pupils through my mask. When I saw my reflection I was shocked. I looked like, like someone I had met before. My hair was a very light blonde and reached my hips. The way I looked was shocking because most people here were dark skinned, had dark curly hair, and dark eyes. I was tan, but not close to the others I had seen here, well, the ones that weren't tourists. So, was I a tourist? Were my human parents tourists and decided to leave me here and return home? I removed my cheetah mask and looked at my face, anger bubbled inside me at what I saw. I put the mask that covered it back on, tied it on my face, and headed back out the door with my spear in hand.

I remembered during my training what one of my teachers, a cheetah, had said and what she taught me. It was on an evening like this one, and it was with one of my many lessons on using my cheetah powers, like her speed.

_ "Dindingwe, I am tired, can't we quit?" I complained as I stood next to my teacher. Her long tail swayed from side to side as she planted her feet in the dirt, ready to take off as we stood there. She shook her head and growled at me. "Quit? As a worrier- as a protector- you never quit, even if you are tired. While you are running, what have you learned?" She asked. "Ok, quiz time. Okay, Delmira. What have you learned from your teacher?" I thought to myself. My teacher waited patiently for my response. "I learned… that, even though you're fast, you have to wait for the right time to use it, because it doesn't last long." I watched the cheetah carefully, waiting for her response to my answer. _

_ She smiled and nodded at me, and then we began to run again. When we were done testing out our speeds we sat down by the river and cooled ourselves down with the water. I looked over at her and asked her a question I had been wondering for a long time. "Why do I have to hide my face?" Her expression wasn't one I expected. I expected shock from the haphazard question, but one of my many teachers just looked at me with honesty. "I have been waiting for you to ask this question for quite a while," she paused. "You must always wear the mask no matter where you are, for you do not know how people will take to seeing your face. Take the hyenas for instance. What do you think of them?"_

_ Thinking of what to say I told her that I thought they were weird and creepy with how they were always laughing. Also, they were not appealing to the eye with their dog face and backs that make them look like they were always bent over. Dindingwe gave a short, small laugh and was expecting this as my answer. "See, you have just judged them by what you saw on the outside. But, do you know them? No, you only know __**of them**__. Yet you have judged them, like others might judge you if they saw your true face. That is why you must keep it hidden. To be a warrior you must stay un-judged by others, to truly be free. If you are not truly free, you will not reach your powers. And they will be taken away from you. Do you understand?" I waited for a long moment before answering. I was taken aback by the cheetah teacher's words. To stay truly free from the world and to keep my powers I must stay free. And, to do that, I must keep my face away from the eyes of others. "I understand now teacher," and with saying that we headed back to the cave to get a night's sleep._

That was ten years ago, when I lived in the cave with the lions of my home, but I still remember Dindingwe's words like they were said yesterday. The rest of the day I kept repeating in my mind what my speed teacher had said, 'to be a warrior you must stay un-judged by others, to truly be free,' always wear the mask, always. Until sundown, I spent patrolling the area and helping the animals of the safari. I kept a baby boar from being trampled in a stampede; I helped a group of feuding and hungry lions, and stopped a couple of poachers from killing some baby elephants. And, I did all this with only some minor scratches that would be healed by the morning with the help of my super healing. I went to bed that night tired and hungry, but I was proud that I lived another day to help. And this time, I did not dream of that horrible fire.


	2. Chapter 2 Mystery Girl

The Mystery Girl

**This chapter is from the perspective of Wally West. All credit (that's not my OC) goes to Young Justice, Justice League: Animated Series, and the creators of DC. Hope you enjoy!**

Wally West woke up that day to the sound of banging on his bedroom door. The man, also known as the Flash, made an inaudible mumble and buried himself back in the covers. It had been a little over a year since the invasion and so much had changed. Barry had retired and Wally had now taken his place as the Scarlet Speedster. When the teens had saved the world from the Reech, Wally, who was then known as Kid Flash, had been shot by the Magnetic Field Disruptor that had gone chrysalis. He was presumed to be dead until a couple of months afterward when radiation of the Speed Force had been found at the North magnetic Pole, where Wally disappeared. Young Justice had gotten him back and Wally was now as fast as Barry Allen, but the gift came at a terrible cost. They lost one of their original members of the team, a dear friend. That was almost a year ago.

The knocking continued and got louder and louder. He moaned and rolled back into his pillow. "Flash, I know you're in there! It's almost two in the afternoon, get up." The knocking continued and Wally rolled out of bed clumsily. The room was still dark and the only light came from the stars and earth below from the window. He stumbled to the door, shockingly, without bumping into something on the way there. His room was a complete mess and had clothing, pizza boxes, and other miscellaneous items scattered across the room. *knock* *knock* "I'm coming. I'm coming."

The door slid open and Bumblebee saw a very sleepy eyed red head. Bee let out a laugh and covered her gaping mouth with one of her hands. Wally put a hand up to cover up his tired eyes from the protruding light from the hallway. Karen gave another laugh and Wally wasn't in relatively the same mood. "What is it, Bumblebee? I was asleep." Wally scrunched up his shoulders and said in a creepy whisper, "you know the morning is evil." Wally continued to rub his eyes, trying to get all of the sleep out of them. Karen put her hands on her hips and smiled at the tired Flash. "Well, Mr. Grumpy Speedster. It's two in the afternoon and hardly morning, and you need to wake up. By the way, your cousin's fighting with Cassie again, thought you should know." Karen stuck out her hand and walked off. Wally gave a sigh, put on his Flash uniform, and walked to the kitchen and cafeteria.

The Flash walked through the clear, metal hallways of the watchtower to see what Bart and Wonder Girl were fighting about this time. Bart had taken up the Kid Flash mantle since when Wally had disappeared and the Young Justice was now officially a part of the Justice League. Since Mount Justice was destroyed they now were living in a wing of the Watchtower with the Justice League members. It was weird seeing your old mentors living with you, but you got over it after a few weeks. Flash started to hear bickering coming from the kitchen and let out a laugh as he walked into the room. "Can you guys not stop bickering for a day?" Flash had a really large smile on his face when he saw Kid Flash and Wonder Girl by an open fridge, facing each other.

"He's eating all the food! What are we supposed to have for dinner if he's eating it all?" Cassie said, pointing a finger at the smaller speedster. "You are so feeling the mode right now, you're just angry 'cause I'm a better hero than you." The copper headed teen definitely had the super speed metabolism his grandfather and great cousin, Wally, had. Flash looked away from the two teens in thought when he heard their bickering starting again. He put his hands on his hips and faced them again. "Hey… Hey… HEY!" Wally screamed and the two arguing teens looked up at the Flash. "What!" they shouted jointly. Wally thought for a moment before thinking up a plan. "Cassie, you can't blame Bart for eating the food, he's got the speed to keep up, and Kid, stop eating Cassie's food. Just have a small snack to keep up your speed, okay?" Wally said this with authority in his voice, and the kids agreed.

Then, M'Gann floated into the room with a grin on her face. "How about some cookies for a snack?" the white Martian said. Kid Flash and Wonder Girl looked at each other for a while, and, then said "Raisin!" and "Chocolate Chip!" at the same time. Then, they began arguing about what type of cookies to make. Bart wanted chocolate chip cookies and said that it was definitely better than crummy, old, wrinkled grapes. "But raisins are better for you than chocolate! You don't want to get fat do you? Oops, you already are." Cassie stuck out her fist, put a hand on her hip, and looked over to Bart, who was now standing there dumbfounded at the Amazon's comment. "Well, if I'm fat, you must be as large as brick house." Bart gave a wide mouthed laugh and held his stomach. Wonder Girl's eyes widened and then her mouth clenched and she glared. It wasn't a Bat-glare, but it was enough to get Kid Flash scared and he sped off, away from the upset Amazon as she chased after him. M'Gann looked back at Flash, stunned and asked, "So, I guess that's a no on the cookies?" Wally just laughed and walked on to roam the hallways of the Watchtower. "It's really funny," the Flash thought and then his face got a little serious, well, for Wally, anyways. "There are starving people in Africa and those two are fighting over what cookies to make."

The Flash saw many of Earth's mightiest heroes on his way around. He saw Green Arrow and Black Canary hanging out together, Vixen and Hal Jordon, or Green Lantern, in the weight room, and saw Vigilante and Shining Knight playing chess. He had now made his way towards the cafeteria to have a late lunch, of course for him: it's always time to eat. The cafeteria was a lot larger than the one on Mount Justice, but it was still a great place to rustle up some grub. Flash walked into the room and saw Supergirl at a table with Stargirl and waved with a big smile. He sped up to the cafeteria line and ordered three Iced Mochas.

After a few minutes, and a lot of whipped cream, Wally made it over to the table where the two girls were at and sat down. He made a habit of sitting with Supergirl everyday he was at the Watchtower, which was quite often since the death of… "Hey, Flash." Wally, also known as the Flash, snapped back up from his thoughts and saw Supergirl starring at the red head. "Did you even hear what I said?" Oops, Wally was in a mess now, he knew girls hated repeating themselves. He should know, he was always blanking out when in conversations with beautiful women, which were most of the girls on the Justice League or in the Young Justice League. He remembered when Wonder Woman had had to repeat herself during a meeting for three times until Wally paid attention. And in the end the speedster got a very rough slap to the back of the head. "I said," Supergirl began as she snapped Wally out of his thoughts again. "There's a rumor we're getting another member to the League soon, well the young League, anyway." Stargirl nodded her head in agreement and began talking about what they supposedly looked like and what they're powers were, but Wally's mind had drifted again. Of course, that's what you get with the perks of super speed; you get the annoying things too. Although a fast mind helps during missions and stuff, it's really aggravating during a conversation. You're mind drifts off to things will others are speaking, and you get easily bored with things. Wally thought of what Supergirl had said and he came to things like: "Who is the person? Are they a she or a he or, maybe they were an it? Are they nice, and will they get along with other members? It seems Red Arrow still doesn't get along with new members, even if he is married and has a kid. Oh, and what kind of superpowers do they have, or do they even have superpowers? Why did the League want another team member, anyway? I mean, I wouldn't mind another member, but didn't the League have enough heroes?" the Flash thought to himself.

His focus was taken away when he heard a loud sucking noise coming from below his jaw. His second mocha had reached the bottom and Wally had been sucking on just air for probably minutes. Wally got up slowly, even for a non-speeder, and walked over to the nearest trashcan to throw away the two now empty cups. He sped out the door into the hallway until he screeched to a stop, remembered something, and then sped back in. He saw Supergirl holding his Iced Mocha, about to take a sip. He ran over to the table again and grabbed the cold drink out of Supergirl's dainty hands before you could say, "flash." The Kryptonian's eyes were as big as saucers from the sudden movement and she still had the green Starbucks straw in-between her teeth. "Thanks for the intel. SGs, but I gotta run. And you still can't have my coffee. See ya." The Flash ran off again, but not before stealing thank-you kisses on the cheek to the two super-girls. He smiled a little when he heard the girls' remarks on the stolen kisses and say something around the lines of, "Why does he have to shorten the names into letters? I'm tired of us being the SGs."

Wally was again walking through the halls, sipping on his half-empty Iced Mocha, when he heard a grunt coming from the training room and decided to take a peak. There he saw Batgirl and Robin (the third) sparring. Barbara threw a few quick punches at the Boy Wonder, which he easily dodged. They were slowly turning around, trying to predict their opponent's next move. Then, Robin decided to take the offense and run towards Batgirl with his bow-staff out. Barbara turned to the side and blocked the new attach, but it seemed that was what Robin wanted. With Batgirl (Barbara) distracted he jumped down into a crouch and swept his leg under her, making her fall to the ground. The machine read out, "Batgirl: Fail," in a mechanical tone. Robin snickered and stuck out a gloved hand to help Barbara to her feet. "You're getting better," a dark voice said that made Flash almost jump out of his skin. He hadn't noticed another person in the training room. He slowly looked over to see a… less grumpy than usual Batman looking at the other Bat-clan members. Robin and Batgirl looked over at each other and gave a wide smile at the rare and small compliment. Wally, now bored, walked on to another room to find entertainment, and this time he came to loud yelling.

"I'm tired of you always stealing my Angelfish!" La'gann shouted as he threw a punch at Conner, Conner dodged it and flew up into the air. Yes, Superboy can fly now. During the journey to get Wally back from the speed force the Team found out that on some occasions of strong emotion Conner could fly as well as see through walls. He still wasn't as strong as Superman, since Conner was only half Kryptonian and didn't have heat vision, or ice breath. Conner had now been training with Superman and could possibly get the other powers with time and practice like he got his flight.

"I didn't steal her La'gann, you idiot! Just because she broke up with you doesn't mean I had anything to do with it." Conner landed back on the ground and smiled. "Or, are you just jealous?" Lagoon Boy scoffed and put his hands on his hips, "Please, jealous of you? You're just a no good half-breed who'll never be as strong as his father. Well, one of his fathers anyway." Man that did it. Superboy gritted his teeth and his jaw clenched, then, his eyes began to glow. Like actually glow! "Superboy! Your eyes are glowing." The Flash shouted and ran over to where Superboy and Lagoon Boy were. They were now closely next to each other, fists clenched, and La'gann smiled, ready for a fight. When Wally was about to intervene, Kaldur was already on the job. He bravely got in-between the two heroes and pushed them apart. "Enough, you two need to calm it down. La'gann, I am sure Conner did not mean to 'steal' M'Gann from you, now leave. Kon, go get your eyes checked and report back." The two teens just stood there and Aqualad shouted for them to go and they reluctantly parted ways.

Half way down another hallway the Flash saw Kid Flash, Blue Beetle, and Beast Boy standing together in a living room eating a batch of cookies and talking. "I guess Wonder Girl and Bart finally decided on a cookie," Wally thought and heard the last of the conversation the three boys were having. "… and then she was like, 'No, they're sugar cookies.' And then I said, 'No, Sugar, they're peanut butter cookies.'" Blue, BB, and KF laughed and Wally continued walking after he threw away his last Iced Mocha. "Geese, is my baby cousin never going to grow up? I mean I know he's from the future and is Uncle Barry's grandson, but still. He's fighting with Cassie as much as I did with Artemis." Wally thought about this when he heard a robotic voice call above him, "Mission ahead, Flash, report to de-briefing room."

Flash sped to the de-briefing room, excited for the new mission. But, as he ran and saw everything as if in slow motion and the people's hair blow around by the sudden gusts, his mind began to speculate. He loved that he could be a part of a new mission, because not a lot had happened lately. There were a few insignificant thugs that decided to take on the big guns, but nothing major. And, usually when there was little trouble for a long time, something big was about to happen.

When he entered the large room he looked around and saw the transporters near with Mr. Terrific on the transportation computers and some mechanics who worked at the Tower working below it. The room had a large window where you could see the earth and stars; it was quite a beautiful sight, especially for someone to see it for the first time. Then, the speedster's eyes rested on the two men already in the room. One was clad in all green, a green Robin Hood style hat, a green quiver, bow, and arrows, and a black domino mask covering his secret identity. The man also had a large smile on his face, ready for a new assignment. Then, there was the other hero in the opposite of a jolly mood like the other. This man wore a long black cape, black armored spandex and utility belt and bat-mask covering his eyes, and above. The Flash looked at an impatient Batman by a large screen with a few pictures on it. One picture had a beautiful young woman with a spear in hand and was wearing a cheetah mask that didn't cover her eyes. Her eyes were magical and looked as if they were holding great power behind them and both were blue and green. She had long light blonde hair to her waist and she had a toned tan body. She was in a cat-like stance; her teeth were bared, and she was fighting off two poachers with knives. "Beautiful," was all this Scarlet Speedster could say.

"Who is she?" came out of Flash's mouth before he could think about it, obviously that was why they were there. Batman ignored this and turned back around to the screen as he went through pictures he had acquired. "SHE is our mission," Batman began. "Reports are saying that she has been found stealing food from local stands and has cat-like abilities and occasional powers of other animals, like the strength of an elephant, flexibility of a cobra, speed of a cheetah, and other abilities like that." The Flash interrupted the Dark Knights dialogue, slowly getting impatient and asked, "So why are we going to go get her? Because, I don't think we're going to get her because she's stealing food, otherwise probably over half of the world would be in jail or at the Tower." Batman was slightly annoyed with the Flash's impatience, but Wally was used to it. "I have reasons to believe this girl," he pointed to the screen. "Has information on you, Green Arrow."

Green Arrow was slightly stunned by this and his eyes widened with shock and asked if Batman was sure of this. "Oh, I am sure. She has information, whether she knows it or not, on you're missing brother and sister in law." Ok, now G.A. was shocked. His mask rose, like he was raising his eyebrows. Flash looked over to him with almost equal shock, "You had a brother?" G.A. snapped out of his trance and turned to the Flash and nodded. "Yeah, he's about eight years older than me, left when I was going into college, hadn't heard of him and his wife since." Green Arrow then turned his attention to Batman, who was still standing, looking at the screen. "Are you sure she knows about John and Katelyn?" Batman gave a small nod and said he was positive that she knew. "Our job is to go to Zimbabwe, where she is, capture her and return her to the Watchtower for interrogation. Alright dismissed, we'll start tomorrow at 5:30." Green Arrow and Flash left for their courters, ready for the new mission ahead. But the archer and speedster couldn't help but wonder how the girl had anything to do with the disappearance of John Queen and his wife Katelyn.

Green Arrow slid open the door to his bedroom after typing in the pass code and walked in. He fell onto his bed and put his hands behind his head. Does that girl really know something about the disappearance of my brother and his wife? They went to Africa it seems years ago, like… twenty years ago… to help with the effort to protect the animals in Zimbabwe. Batman was a smart detective, but it was still hard for the archer. Ollie had given up hope for his brother a long time ago. Ollie turned and pulled the cover over his body. That night the thirty six year old fell asleep wondering who she was.


	3. Chapter 3 Bag and Tag

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 3

Bag and tag

The sun was shining through the little room of my house and I opened my eyes. The sun was bright and warm. I thought it was going to be a normal day… boy, was I wrong.

I got ready that morning with the sound of birds chirping, a few lion roars and water running from a nearby stream. I walked outside, felt the warm sun on my face, and stretched. My yawn was so loud and proud it could put up a competition with a lion's roar… and win. Then, I cheetah sped to the nearest stream. I stripped down out of my dress and stepped into the cold, relatively clean water. After cleaning my body, I began to clean my dress with some soap I had taken in the town where I usually got my food.

To clean the dress I took a few rocks from the stream and rubbed it rigorously with the stick of soap and stones. Then, I slung it across a tree branch to dry. After it dried I put it back on with my mask, which I took off so it would not get damaged by the water. As I tied a rope around my waist to make sure the dress was kept on my body, I grabbed my spear and travelled on to protect the animals of my home.

I was walking along, using my spear as a walking stick, when I heard the shrill cry of a meercat. I ran towards the noise and saw a large group of them above ground, which was odd since the small animals buried themselves into the ground for protection. I crouched down next to one and began talking to him in his own language. Yes, I can talk to animals… lucky me. "What's wrong?" I asked, now near the level of the small creature. "Nothing is wrong, young lady. We are tired of living in the dark, dusty ground. We want to live up here with the rest of the world." The small heads of the rodents nodded in unison and agreement. "Ok, now I am thoroughly confused," I thought as I turned my head to the side in thought, then I looked back at the one who had spoken. "Yeah, you're up here with the rest of the world… and all its predators that want to eat you," I said, putting a pointing finger on his small, fury chest, trying to scare the meercats into going back to their homes in the ground. But, they didn't listen to me and stayed rooted to their spots. "How about this, you go back to your homes and only come out when the coast is clear and when I am around. Okay? You don't want to hurt my feelings and get hurt, do you?" I said and put on my best beggar face. After many deals and pleading they reluctantly returned to their burrows. But, I had to bring them a bucket of grub every week as a consolation price for staying below ground. "Weird day," I mumbled as I walked away from them.

* * *

Then, I ran into the elephants. They were stomping around with loud trumpeting sounds from their long noses. There was a small, baby wild dog in the middle of the ciaos and was cowering in fear, frozen with it. I gave out a loud gasp at the defenseless animal as a large male elephant ran at him. "Speed of the cheetah, strength of the elephant!" I shouted and ran towards the stampede of feet, trunks, and tusks. I felt my blood rush through my body faster, as it did when I used my other powers. My arms and legs got stronger and my body got taller and larger. The strength in my legs was for the cheetah speed and the strength in my arms and growth in body size was from the elephant strength. My body grew small brown spots and turned a light yellow from the cheetah DNA and power I asked for. I also grew small tusks and my ears grew bigger from the elephant powers. "Man," I thought, "I must be a sight to see, with the weird look." I smiled slightly and sped on all fours to the chaos where sand and dust was flying in the air.

I coughed as I inhaled some of the dusty air and tried to search for the dog. Just then I saw a confused female with big black eyes run towards the young wild dog. She spun her head around and lifted her foot, not watching where she was going as she made the gap between them smaller. I cheetah-sped toward her and stuck out my slender arms to grab her foot. She was strong and I dug into the ground with my feet from the force. She just kept pushing and I was now a few feet into the ground. I was pushed to my knees and my strength and powers were weakening and I could feel my arms and shoulders sink with weariness. My head started to spin and I wanted to touch it, make it stop its spinning, but all my power had to go to stopping the muddled elephant from hurting the lesser creature. I gave a low whistle, snapping the wild dog next to me back to reality and I told him to run until he reached his pack. He nodded a thank you and fled from the large elephants. Now, I could let go.

I released my arms and tumbled away from her. I stuck a battling pose (a crouch with one leg out for balance and my two hands on the ground) and saw a small crater where I had been that had formed from the impact. I used the leg that was folded to propel me up onto her back. Once there I grabbed her ears and pulled her to a stop. I looked into her eyes, trying to search for an answer in them, then, I recognized her. "Ellie," I said with shock in my voice, "Is that you, Ellie?" My eyes widened, her eyes were astray and filmed over. She looked as if she was hypnotized. After many supplicates I gave up to something I rarely did, especially to an old teacher and close friend. "I don't want to have to do this Ellie, but if you won't listen." I stuck out my cat-like claws, and with a swift motion I sank them into the most sensitive spot for an elephant, her ears.

Ellie, my young strength teacher, the strongest creature in all of Zimbabwe, let out a high-pitched cry and threw me off of her back. Luckily, that got all of the elephants to snap out of their awkward states and stop their rampage. They slowly made their way back to where ever they came and the air settled. Unlucky for me though, I was thrown off of her back at her thrashing and landed on the ground **hard**. I tried to get up and let out a hard cry, tears streamed down my face in pain. I tried to get up and howled again. I reached a hand to my side instinctively and felt blood come from me. At least two of my ribs were broken. More tears came down and Ellie ran towards me. "Did I do that? Ohhhhhh, **I** did that," she whined. "Oh no, no, no, no." Ellie blubbered and tears streamed down her large grey face from her black marble-like eyes. I gave out a huff of air in frustration. Ellie was pretty young for an elephant and was prone to crying constantly. "Ellie," I whispered, but she ignored me and continued to stumble around worrying. "ELLIE!" I shouted, anger enveloping me. She stopped in her tracks and looked at me, eyes bursting of uneasiness. "LISTEN TO ME," I shouted and then quieted my voice, trying to calm her and tell her I was alright. "I'm going to be okay; with my super healing I should be fine in about an hour. Now, help me up, please."

The female elephant smiled, now ready to help repair the damage she'd caused. She wrapped her trunk around me and helped me up, and then she led me back to my home to rest until my broken ribs were fixed. When we got there Ellie waited outside while I grabbed some scraps of linen I had kept for wounds. I lifted up my shirt and wrapped the cloth around my torso, making my shirt a sort of makeshift belly shirt and the lower part of my dress I wrapped around with a rope so it wouldn't fall off.

My mask was still on as I walked wearily outside to meet my elephant teacher and friend. Even though the young elephant was my best friend and had seen my different face before I still didn't let her see it, I remembered Dindingwe's words. "Ellie, I am alright," I cooed, "my wounds should be healed in minutes, you can go home now." She lingered for a moment and then finally went back home to her family. "Family…" I thought and let out a long depressed sigh. Yes, I had the animals that adopted me as their own, trained me, and fed me when I couldn't do so myself. Heck, they even gave me my powers. But, I still wasn't at home, I wasn't one of them. I had Ellie and she was my best friend… one of my **only friends **and I love her very much and enjoy my shared time with her, but it wasn't the same. I wanted someone of my own kind, someone who understood me. I longed for that.

I saw other people my age in the towns and cities, having fun and laughing, I wanted that. I saw them from the shadows and every time it hurt me. I saw them love each other and fall in love, kissing and hugging, and I wanted that. I wanted to love and be loved by people of my own kind. That's all I had ever wanted for myself and I let out another sigh. I walked away from the shack to patrol the area again. Though I was tired I had continued to help the rest of that day. And, boy was it weird. Chimpanzees had been screaming, alligators had gotten sick and weren't eating, everything was off balance. Even the air seemed thick and off beam. And it got weirder.

* * *

"Chi-Chi, don't cry," I said as I patted the head of a little hyena child that had been crying for the past half an hour. Actually, all of the pack of hyenas had been crying. Then, a large fat male one ran towards me, not watching where he was going, and bumped into Chi-Chi, they stumbled backwards and landed by another group, also crying. I ran around trying to calm the animals with my words, and even gave a few hugs to the little ones. "Coco, Suey, Joe, Bonanza, calm down please. Everything is alright, just calm down." I continued to run around frantically and yelling at the weeping animals. "This is just getting weird," I whispered. First, the meercats wanted to stay **above **ground, then the **peaceful** elephants went on a rampage, the chimpanzees and monkeys started screaming, then the alligators got sick and wouldn't **eat**, and now this.

"Weird, weird, weird," I kept saying as I ran around trying to quiet them down. "Maybe a joke will make them laugh," I thought. "Ok, yeah, a joke, that'll work," I said to no one in particular. "Ok, why'd the zebra cross the river?" Usually, just by the sound of a joke the hyenas would start laughing hysterically, but they just continued to weep louder and louder. "Ughhh," I sighed and sat down hugging my legs. I was tired from all the work and stress of the day. Most of the time the days were quiet and I just had to fight off a few poachers and maybe a couple of angry monkeys. Today was different and little did I know then that my peaceful days in Zimbabwe were over.

Every joke I threw at them just made them more upset. I had given up and was lying flat on the ground when an animal walked towards me. I looked away from my hands to the ground and saw a small shadow hover over me. He had fury brown hair along his body and a long, curly hair to go with it. "Now, why are you so upset, little warrior?" The animal screeched and I sat up. I recognized the animal's scratchy voice anywhere. He had been my acrobatics teacher when I was little and was starting out as a protector. He was constantly cracking jokes about me being a hairless, tailless monkey with no humor.

His whole family had been little jokesters and it was funny to them to see someone who didn't share the same humor. I had been ever so series, even as a child. Of course, I was almost nineteen now and still had a very dry humor. I only laughed when I was around him, my old acrobatics teacher. "Monkey!" I shouted, stood up, and picked him up in a bone-crushing hug. Monkey yelped a hello and I let go as he gracefully back flipped and landed on the dirt ground. I apologized for my strength (I was stronger than the average human) and smiled at seeing my old teacher.

"Monkey, it is so very good to see you again. How is the family?" I asked and my acrobatics teacher told me of all the latest drama. His sister had a baby, his oldest son's daughter has a boyfriend, and his two youngest daughters are still fighting as usual. "Oh, and dad just turned seventy-five," I opened my mouth in an 'o' shape and Monkey stood proud. "Yep, he's one of the oldest living in the clan." Then, he looked around, his tail swinging in excitement. "So, what's the problem here?" I sighed and sat back down on the ground. "Everything's been out of whack today; even Ellie went on a rampage." I buried my head in my knees and shut my eyes tight and whispered, "I can't do this. I've been working all day and I even broke a few ribs earlier this morning trying to calm Ellie from stepping on a baby wild dog."

Now, you'd probably think tears would start streaming down my face, but they never did. I rarely ever showed emotion on the field, especially fear or sadness, one of the many lessons I learned from my proudest, fearless, and most feared teacher in all of Africa. "Well, I'll just have to change that." My head popped up to see Monkey with a big smile on his face. "What?" I whispered as I saw him reach out a small hand for me to get up. "I said," he began as I stood next to him. "I'll just have to change that and help you." I smiled at the assistance, but the grin quickly left. "How are you going to do that? I tried everything. I even threw around a few jokes, but it just made them even sadder." Monkey gave a very loud laugh and called me a hairless monkey. "That is because you do not have a funny bone in your heroic body. Follow my lead and we'll fix this mess with some jokes." The rest of that afternoon I attempted to make them laugh again, but it didn't work, that's when I officially snapped. I got so upset I literally collapsed on the ground, dust flying everywhere. When it returned to the ground I saw that the hyenas were now laughing hysterically at me and then moved on. Monkey extended a hand and I got up slowly and rubbed my behind. Then, I said good bye and walked on to continue my journey.

* * *

I had begun to run faster and faster as I heard roar after roar and birds were squawking, monkeys were squeaking, and elephants were snorting in fear. It sounded like total chaos and I was still a good two miles away, I ran as fast as I could and then I saw it. My old teacher, Leon, was running around with his teeth bared and swinging at anything that was near him. It was the scariest thing I had ever seen. My teacher, the strongest person I knew, was attaching things without any reason. Then, my eyes fell upon his eyes. They were the same filmed over, lost look that Ellie had had when she had almost hurt the dog. "Master Leon, please, listen to me." I said carefully and slowly crept over to him with my hands out. Of all of my teachers: Ellie, Monkey, and Dindingwe, even Gera, who was my giraffe teacher who had now passed, had never made me call them master. Occasionally, they wanted to be called Teacher, but that was rare. Now that I was thinking about it, it was because he was different from Gera, or Monkey, or Dindingwe, or Ellie. Ellie and Monkey were some of my best friends, Ellie the closest and Gera was like an aunt to me. While, I didn't remember my own mother, Dindingwe had been in place as a mother for me.

At first Master Leon did not see me, but as I got closer his nose began to twitch. He jerked his head towards me, he had smelled my sent, and I jumped back. Remember, Leon was a lion and one of the bravest most feared lions in all of Africa. And you had to be careful with lions, they were always unpredictable, and you could never turn your back on them. Master Leon prowled around me and I never turned my back on him. With that we made a small circle in the dirt ground. It carried on like that for a while until my teacher began to get impatient and gave a low growl at me and then made a quick leap. I was caught off guard, but was still able to somehow back-flip away from him. I could have attacked him, but I stayed on defense, I didn't want to hurt my teacher, and though he didn't think me of it, he was my family. My knees were a little scuffed but they were already healed by the time I got up again. "Master Leon, listen to me, you are not thinking clearly, please just calm down." But Leon just continued to try to pounce on me, and I kept dodging. I thought multiple times to use my powers, but I knew that since I was so drained of strength, if I did I would pass out. I was getting tired and my body started shaking and sweating terribly. I began to feel light headed and my legs began to buckle under me. My breath was short and jagged. I shifted my weight onto my spear and I could have lifted it and struck the animal and ended the fight, but I didn't. I would never kill an animal, no matter what the circumstances. I would rather give my own life than take the life of another. That's what I do. I protect.

While I was thinking, Leon had gotten close to me and swung out his paw. The sharp claws came in contact with my right arm that wasn't holding the spear and a sharp pain came from it and shivered down my spine. It began to bleed and the red gooey liquid had covered my whole arm and I felt light headed. I swayed back and forth and it looked like the whole area was spinning. My whole face was now covered in sweat, dirt, and tears of pain. From the corner of my eye I saw my old teacher leap towards me and knock me down. I felt my arm that had been scratched being pulled, like I was getting stitches. My arm was heeling itself, but I had already lost a lot of blood. And at the worst possible moment, I passed out. I dreamt of one of my many lessens with Master Leon, my fear teacher.

* * *

_It was a warm summer day and a little windy. Master Leon and I were training in one of our many combat lessons. I was ten years old then. Leon jumped out at me and swung. I did a back flip to make some distance between us and then took my fighting stance with my hands out. We continued to do this for a few moments. When I got tired, I started on the offensive. When I started to get closer I heard a loud gunshot noise. I looked up from the fight and looked around. When I was about to turn back a sharp pain went through my gut. I instinctively held it with one hand and looked down at my stomach. There were three large scratches and they were starting to bleed. I took a deep breath and saw the scratches stop bleeding and slowly heal, turning the skin back to its tan, almost brown color. Then, my eyes went up to Master Leon who looked disappointed. I looked at him quizzically and he said with authority in his voice, "Never look away from your opponent when fighting. You must know what's going on in your surroundings without taking your eyes off of the task at hand." I nodded and then ran towards him with my staff -it was a little large for me since I was smaller, but I had already been training as long as my memory went back (four years) – and I carried it easily. When reaching him I pushed myself off of his strong shoulders and used that momentum to back flip into the air. I landed gracefully on the ground and swung my staff at him. When he turned around my spear was just a few centimeters from his nose. He nodded a, "you got me, lesson over." I relaxed my bare shoulders for a while, but they only went back up when I heard the gunshot noise again and it was quiet. The animals had stopped making noise and the air seemed still._

_I looked back at Master Leon, "What was that, Master Leon?" I asked, but he just stood looking forward, preparing himself for what was about to happen. "What was that? Was that a gun? I've heard them before, but I'm not ready for them yet. I haven't finished my training, I've only been training for three years; four years living with the lionesses. But, the humans never got this close to the cave," I thought this and my legs began to shake and I got a sick feeling in my stomach. I was afraid! Just then four black birds flew out of the trees squawking; I jerked my head upwards toward them. Hearing a low growl coming from beside me I looked over to Master Leon. His front paws were crouching forward, beginning to take a fighting stance. I followed his eyes and saw a native man from the area with a rifle in his hands. He had an evil grin on his face and pointed the gun at my teacher. "A poacher," I whispered. At that moment the gun went off and I looked at Leon in fear. He had dodged the bullet a little, but it still grazed his ear and it was bleeding. "LEON!" I shouted, but he did not look towards me. He growled and said, "Go now, Delmira. You are not ready." He said this shockingly calmly and a shiver ran down my back. He really had no fear, did he? I froze, I couldn't move. I couldn't leave him, and trust me I tried, but it was like I was a statue. My feet were frozen to the ground. I was afraid! "Delmira! Now!" He shouted, but I just remained rooted to my spot, my eyes wide. The poacher pointed his gun again, but at me! I closed my eyes- ready to die- when a gun shot went out. _

_I waited and waited for it to hit me, but it never did. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the large lion standing above a bloodied figure. He was limp and no heart beat came from him. He was dead! My teacher had killed someone. Yes, he was an evil poacher and was about to kill the both of us for no good reason, but it still wrenched my heart. Leon ran towards me, I could tell he was angry at me just by the way he travelled. I fell on the ground, scrunched up in a ball with my hands out protectively. He was now right next to me and I felt his hot breath in my face. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" He shouted, but I gave no answer, he didn't want one. "I told you to go and you deliberately disobeyed me. You feared! You never fear, you never clam up like that, and you NEVER disobey me!" He ordered. "He could have killed the both of us, because you DID NOT ACT! If you fear they will take an advantage of that. And they will end you!" He roared with his teeth bared. He was one ticked off kitty. I cringed when he lifted his large, sharp-clawed paw to hit me. But, he stopped and his nose went back to its normal, un-scrunched shape. He turned his head from me and said, "We cannot lose you" in a relatively soft voice that a regular human couldn't hear it, but I did with my super-hearing. Then, he walked away from me. I looked back at the lifeless form of the man who attacked us and slowly got up and followed Master Leon back to the lion's cave as tears ran down my face. I kept repeating his words in my head, trying to make them stick. "No fear, no fear, no fear."_ That eventful day was almost nine years ago.

My green and blue eyes snapped open and I woke up and saw Leon's golden eyes. They were still fogging like the other animals' were before I snapped them out, but his eyes still had that gold color to them, "eyes like the sun" is was Dindingwe called them. I was lying on the ground with Master Leon pinning down my legs and arms, preventing me from getting up. And I couldn't use my powers or I'd probably pass out again. I was stuck and fear began enveloping me again. "NO! No fear!" I shouted in the Shona language and managed to get my feet from under him and kick him hard enough so he flew backwards. He was slow to get up, and I was angry now. A roar began climbing up from my stomach to my throat, and I could feel it slowly getting bigger inside me. The roar reached out from my lips and seemed to shake the ground before me. Good old reliable Super animal DNA. The roar was so loud it knocked Leon out of his state and the adult lion blindly looked up at me. Just then a ton of poachers ran towards me and the grand lion. This just wasn't my day.

I readied my fighting stance with my spear pointed out and said to Leon in lion tongue, "Get out, Leon I'll handle them." My master was going to protest when I gave him a glare telling him without a single word that he wasn't fit to fight and he should leave. That way at least one of us wouldn't get hurt. He ran off and I jumped into my stance again with my spear pointing out. "Uya ne tora i," "**Come and get it," **I growled and gave a smile worthy of a devil. Some of the men ran towards me (I'm not sure if they were brave or just stupid), and I fought them with the fighting lessons I learned from Dindingwe, Leon and the lionesses, Monkey, and even some of Ellie's moves. A few were knocked out when a bright light came from the sky. They looked up and I tapped the man I was fighting knocking him unconscious with a pressure point I learned from Monkey. Then, I tried to look at the blinding light to figure out what it was with a hand shielding my eyes. The remaining men ran away from me in fear, but I stayed strong in my spot. There was a large blast and I swiftly turned my head away. When I looked back there were three strange looking men standing where the light came from. One was in a dark… bat suit? Why was this guy in a bat suit? He had a dark cape attached to his mask and his hair and his eyes were covered and there were white lenses where his eyes were. He had a fancy black belt and the rest of his armor was black with a black bat symbol on the chest. "Who is this anyway? A bat-man?" I thought and gave an exasperated look. There was also a blonde man with a blonde unique beard who was in all green, and wore a small black domino mask. And he also had a quiver, bow, and arrows I presumed were his weapons. He was seemingly familiar to me, but I shook it off and looked to the task at hand.

The last was a taller male in a red jump suit with yellow lightning bolts on his sides and a mask that was similar to the man in black, but did not have the long ears the other male had. He was younger than the others, I could tell because his facial features were less distinguished and his chest was smaller. But, he was still pretty well built, considering he looked only about a few years older than me. I suddenly felt self conscious at his widening smile at seeing me. I remembered that I was wearing a brown torn sleeveless shirt that only covered the top part of my torso and left my stomach open. I usually only wore it if I went swimming with Ellie, but since I had hurt my ribs earlier I put this on with its bottom, a shirt brown torn skirt. But, I stopped thinking about that and pointed my spear at the new intruders. I shouted, "Iwe uri ani?" **"Who are you?" **They just looked over at each other without a clue as to what I was saying. "Iwe uri ani! Iwe uri ani!" **"Who are you! Who are you!" ** I shouted over and over, but they still had no clue what I was saying. I began to get upset and my face began to turn red with anger. The man in red slowly walked over to me with his hands up in surrender. He said something as he walked towards me, but I still couldn't understand him. The language he was speaking was familiar, but I still couldn't identify with him, or his friends. Then, he put his hands on my tan bare shoulders, and a red blush entered my cheeks. Okay, now I was mad. "First, these strangers entered my territory with a blinding, protruding light, the younger of them stares at me with studying eyes, makes me feel self-conscious, do not tell me who they were, and now the younger one is touching me!" I thought and gritted my teeth.

I screamed a battle cry and grabbed the man, flipping him to the ground rigidly, and before he could even tell what happened. He let out a small moan and tried to roll over to get up, but I put my bare foot on his chest firmly to stop him. "Iwe uri ani?" **"Who are you?"**

Now, I demanded an answer from him. He just looked at me with shy eyes and I gave a loud lion roar and pointed my spear towards him. When I was about to knock him out with the butt of my staff, a bat-a-rang hit the wood of my staff and knocked it out of my firm grasp. I swiftly turned around and hissed as loud as I could and exposed my sharp, white teeth. They looked shocked at my actions, well at least the familiar man in green with arrows- Green Arrows? - looked shocked and a little scared. The bat-man didn't really show any emotion, and kind of reminded me of Master Leon. They were either shocked by my animal-like behavior, or good fighting skills, maybe both.

I continued to dodge Batman's attacks and 'rangs as a red blur ran past us, and knocked me off my feet. It was the one who had touched me! He stood by Batman with a large smile on his face. I growled, suddenly wanting to rip the smile off of his jaws. I ran towards him and did a round-house kick to his face. It knocked him down and he passed out unconscious with his jaw starting to turn a sickly purple color. I looked back at the bat-man and started another kick and he grabbed me quickly by my ankle and twisted it, throwing me backwards onto my butt. I screeched when I landed on the dirt. "You broke my ankle! You broke it, you… you, monkey-butt!" But, they didn't understand me; they just knew I was angry. And, boy was I angry. I exposed my teeth again and managed to get up once more.

I stuck out my cat-claws and swung them at the Bat-man and his Fastman. From the corner of my eye I saw Green Arrows just standing by with a spaced look on his face. Then, the Batman (who was dodging my attempts to scratch him) shouted while throwing a punch to my face, "Arrow, don't just stand there!" Of course, I didn't know what he said then and continued to try to scratch him. A few moments past, and then the Green Arrows drew back his bow and pulled a weird green arrow out of his quiver. He pulled it back and released it, but by that time I had already moved and it hit the ground where I had been standing. I was about to laugh like a hyena, or perhaps a monkey, when a strange grey smoke came from the arrow and I covered my mouth with my arm and back flipped out of the way.

When I landed I saw a man I had earlier knocked out, before the men had come, slowly wake and grab his gun. He pointed it at the man with the arrows and began to shoot a bullet. It was as if I saw the whole thing in slow motion. A smoke came from the gun and a bullet came out off the large riffle. It flew slowly towards the man wearing green and I felt an urge to run in front of it, and save the unfamiliar, yet memorable man. "Call of the cheetah!" I shouted and ran in front of the projectile. Then, everything went back to its normal speed as it hit my chest.

I landed hard on the ground as things started to go black. The Green Arrows was shocked and stood before me. Then the man in black and armor shouted in that unrecognizable language, "Green Arrow stop the bleeding, I'll get the guy!" I recoiled as Green Arrows slowly crept towards me cautiously and then bent beside me placing his two hands where the gunshot wound was. I winced at the pressure. He murmured things that sounded like he was saying it was going to be okay. And for some reason I was compelled to say a name that popped into my head. "Oliver?" I said weakly, sounding out each of the syllables. He looked shocked, but then smiled at me. It was **definitely **the weirdest day ever. Then…

**I blacked out. **

**Authors Note: so chapter three is up! What do you guys think? How does Delmira recognize Green Arrow? Will she be okay from the gunshot wound? How did you like the battle scenes? Stay tuned and please review. :) **


	4. Chapter 4 Awakening

The Girl of the Wild Ch.4

Awakening

Run, run, run as fast as you can. The little girl ran as fast as her little legs could. For some reason she was laughing as she did so. Her little legs were trudging down the dirt ground of my home. The grass was long and made a rustling sound as she struck it away with her hand and ran through it. There was a little tree a couple of yards away from the blonde child and she ran towards it with a small smile on her face. She looked about five years old and I wandered why she was running around in the wild alone. Just then I heard quiet footsteps behind me and I turned around to see a tall man behind me. He was walking and looking around, searching for someone. His hair was scruffy and blond and he had equally scruffy stubble on his chin. Still searching as I watched him, I guessed he was about 6.1 feet tall. My curiosity got the better of me and I walked over to the stranger. "Sir, may I help you?" I asked in Shona, but the man totally ignored me, then something strange happened.

When I walked closer to him I placed my hand on his shoulder for him to become aware of my presence. My arm and hand went translucent when it came in contact with his shoulder and it went right through him. I pulled back my hand swiftly and gave a shrill cry that sounded like a pot of tea being boiled on a stove. I was like a ghost, a ghost that couldn't be seen or heard. In a sudden gush of wind I was behind a tree where the little girl was hiding, and I looked down at her. She was crouched behind the tree, peeping around with a large toothy smile. Her hands were placed delicately on the tree bark and she was trying to be quiet and suppress laughter. She turned around, slid back onto the tree to the ground, and sat with her legs crossed Indian-style. "My little Moyo, come out, come out, I'm going to get you," my ears perked up when I heard the man's words. In one of my dreams the woman there had called me "my Moyo" which meant "my heart" in the Shona language. Then, my mind clicked and I imagined a little bright light bulb go over my head. That man who was playing with this little five year old was the same man who had saved my life in that vision. This little girl, who I hadn't seen before, had very light, almost white, blonde hair and had blue eyes with green around her pupils and irises. They mirrored mine! Was this little girl related to me? Was she my sister, or… maybe me when I was younger? She kind of looked like me, but she, or I, didn't have my burns yet. I shook this off and looked back at the two strangers.

The man was walking over to the tree after hearing the girl give a small giggle. He peeped his head around the tree and faced the girl and said, "Gotcha!" She let out a gasp and faced him. He picked her up and began tickling her. She told him between gasps to stop and he reluctantly did with a large smile on his sculpted face. He walked back to where they had come from with the girl in his hands and I stayed behind the tree watching them. I slowly faded away and awakened in a strange place.

A bright light started to come through and voices were around me. It was like I was in a dark cave with no light, and I couldn't even see my hand in-front of my face. All I could see was a bright light and hear the voices. The glow came closer and closer. I couldn't tell what the voices were saying, but I knew it had something to do with me. At first the light was so intense that my eyes had to shut quickly. I waited a few moments and then tried to open my eyes once more. They fluttered open slowly and the light started to come into vision again. You know when you put the flash on a camera and at first there is just a view of yellow spots in your vision? Then, after a few blinks they go away and you start to see again. I was starting to see and starting to wake up from my memory.

I woke up in a white room with large white tiles on the floor and the metallic smell of disinfectant and blood was in the air. My eyes drifted across the room to strange machines in one corner, more strange beeping machines in another, and even more strange machines next to my bed. One, I noticed, had a black screen with a zigzag line on it; it beeped every time my heart did. I outstretched my hand to touch the strange device and felt a light tugging on the inside of my arm. My eyes widened in astonishment. There was a tube running into it, one with red liquid and the other with a clear fluid. I was about to pull them out when a voice interrupted me and I wrenched my hand, that was going to pull out the tubes, away. I felt childish, pulling my hand away when caught. What was I, a child? I inwardly reprimanded myself for the action. "How are you feeling?" My eyes widened, I slowly turned my head, and saw a tall man in the door way a few feet away from me. He was leaning on the wall with a large smile on his face, wore a red spandex suit, and a mask as well. Oh, jeez. I wanted to yell at the man, "he's the one who brought me here, it is his fault! I would still be at home if it were not for him!" My expression changed from at fault to anger. My face, tending to get red when I was upset, was already accelerating in heat and I could feel the red coloring enveloping it. My hands turned into fists and I could feel my sharp nails dig into my palm. My knuckles were turning white and I was using all my strength not to pop him in the jaw again. It was only a few seconds (but seemed like minutes to me) until I lost it.

I shouted swear words at the man in what I thought were a language he couldn't understand. But, apparently, he could. "Woah, babe, didn't know you had such a vocabulary." Alright, that did it! You think that I was on the edge of the cliff before, now I was pushed over. And this time by a cocky boy around my age, with an annoying grin, and soon a dislocated jaw. I felt my eyes switch from my calm blue and green color to bright green catlike eyes, and my animal side took over. Now, don't think I lose my calm whenever I get angry and let my animal side take over and attack random boys, because I don't. This particular boy just had a tendency to do that to me. I flew off my paper-like bed sheets and ran towards him… or at least planned to anyway. I wasn't even a foot away from the bed when I collapsed from my feet.

Before I could feel my body fall and hit the cold floor of wherever I was, a red blur ran to me and I felt strong arms wrap themselves along my body. One arm was around my waist hugging me from the floor and the other behind my now throbbing head. I looked up to see the white lenses that covered the eyes of my catcher. He still wore the mask that covered his hair and stopped below his cheek bones. He had that same smile on his face that I had seen the first time I saw him. The floor was a few inches away from me and I could tell if he had been a few milliseconds late I would have surely hit face first to the tile floor. We stood there for a while until the speedster made it uncomfortable. A goofy smile slowly crept across his lips as he said, "only known you for a couple of days and your already falling into my arms." I cleared my throat awkwardly and started to get up, but he wouldn't let me go. "Let go!" I shouted and his eyes widened, like he forgot he was still holding me. "Oh, yeah, um, right." We slowly got up together and I daintily climbed back into bed, but not before a small groan escaped my lips and I clenched my sides. Now on the bed, with the Fastman besides the bed railing, I felt a sharp pain come from my side; I looked down and saw that my stomach and chest was wrapped up in white cloth-like tape. "So, that is why I fell behind the knees?" I said to myself slowly, forgetting that Fastman could hear me. "Yep, you took a nasty hit protecting G.A." I looked up from my wound at the man and repeated his words. He nodded slowly. "Why'd you do that, anyway?" That question I did not want to answer. How was I supposed to anyway? I did not know myself and I looked away from his eyes. Luckily, he realized I either didn't know, or didn't want to, and he left it alone. After a few moments of silence, with my animal sense, I felt another presence enter the room.

I looked over to see a tall green man with an elongated looking head, red eyes, and a costume that consisted of a red "X" on his chest and blue cape and tights. My eyes widened, he was definitely not from the planet Earth. "Oh, hey J'ohnn," the speedster said as he rubbed the back of his head in guilt. I guessed he was not supposed to see me yet, but I kept my eyes on the strange green man. "Hello, Flash you know you were not suppose to see the patient until she was ready and awake," the green man, who had been called J'ohnn, said as he reprimanded the young man. The speedster nodded as he talked to J'ohnn and told him that he had heard I was awake and just **had** to see me. The man nodded and looked back at me, "You have had many injuries, you are lucky we brought you here. You had a great loss of blood, a few recently broken ribs, a fractured ankle, a concussion, and a gunshot wound in the upper abdomen. But, strangely enough they have already mostly healed, except the gunshot wound, of course. We had to operate to get out the bullet. Just have no strenuous activity and you should be fully recovered in a few days." He had a strange foreign accent, and little emotion. There was something alien about him, but I shrugged it off as he walked away from me. That wasn't what was the strangest about him. Instead of using the door, he disappeared into the wall! The wall, for goodness sake! And I thought my abilities were weird.

I heard a laugh come beside me at my expression. I yanked my head away from the wall the man had disappeared from and stared at the laugher. I gave a slow, deep warning growl and furrowed my eyebrows, warning the Fastman not to tempt me. He abruptly stopped and put his hands up, "Sorry, I won't laugh, even though it was pretty funny." He gave emphasis on the pretty and spit out the "t" symbols. "I don't want you to pop-out my jaw again," I gave a short laugh at that. "So, I **did** dislocate his jaw. Good, that is what he gets." I thought. "It's not funny! Bats had to put it back in, and it hurt. You're just lucky I have super-speed healing like you do." I would have been shocked at the fact he had one of the same powers I had, laughed at the detail that I caused him more pain, and wanted to know who "Bats" was. But, it wasn't time for that. It was time for the serious questions.

"Who are you, and why do you identify with me? You couldn't recognize my language during our battle, and I couldn't understand you. So, why now?" The Fastman's smile disappeared for a second at the sudden questions. "You don't know who I am?" I nodded my head no. "But, how could you not know me. I'm the fastest man alive, not to mention the cutest, wittiest, best looking guy in the whole Justice League. How could you not…" He stopped as I growled at him and gave him another fierce look. I was not appreciating him not getting to the point. "I'm the Flash, the scarlet speedster, the crimson comet. How have you not heard of me before?" I shrugged my shoulders. "Oh yeah," he said, "lived in the wilderness of Zimbabwe, of course."

He later told me everything I wanted to know. Apparently, some girl named Zatanna put a spell on me so I can understand English and others can understand me. At first I didn't like the idea that I couldn't speak my native language anymore, but the Fastman told me that I could as long as I focused. "Kind of like a second language," were his words? He had also told me that they brought me here, at the Watchtower- what is a "Watchtower" anyway? The Watchtower was a floating space station that held a large number of support staff, and the "superheroes" -as they were called- had a large kitchen, meeting facilities, boarding rooms, and a cafeteria, and a medical bay, which I was now in. Anyway, they had brought me here to gain information on me. During the stories and questions I had inclined against my pillow and was now peacefully listening to the one known as Flash, which I guessed was not his real name, but I didn't bother with asking him for his real name. But, when I heard that the people I had fought out had just taken me to gain information I jumped up from my position. I used my elbows to prop myself up so that I was closer to the speedster, who was now sitting in a chair by my bed. "But, you have not taken interest in me before! Or my people, or anything! So, you just saved my life for information. Is that it? I knew it, the lionesses were right, you cannot trust a human!" I don't even know what I said after that, and I didn't care. I was too upset to care. I continued to rant on and on, my anger bubbling up at the 22 year old as I told him all the problems in Africa and the animals that lived there.

I felt tears start to sting my eyes, but I was not going to let the Flash see them. They would just show him I was weak. And Master Leon told me to never show weakness; especially to someone you do not know. I buried my head into the pillow. Never feeling like this before, I hated every minute of it. My shoulders began to shake with a mixture of anger and unhappiness. "You do not care about me; all you care is for your stupid information." I said into my pillow. I felt the presence in the medical room grow tense and I heard small movement beside me. A gloved hand reached my shoulder gently and squeezed it. "No, no," he whispered smoothly trying to calm me down. "Yeah, we took you to the Watchtower for information, but that is not the only reason. We also took you to save your life. You had major blood loss and a gunshot wound. If we hadn't teleported you here with us, you could have died." He said the last part very quietly and I lifted my head from the pillow. "Really?" I whispered, lifting my head from the pillow, and he nodded proudly and put his hands on his hips. "Of course, we're the JLA we do that."

"Who?" His smile quickly disappeared and his arms fell back to his side. "You don't know?! The JLA…" I nodded my head no again. "The coolest group of super heroes in the world that work together to fight bad guy butt, you know, the Justice League of America." I nodded another no again and smiled at the male's disbelieve and over reaction. Then, he nodded his disapproval and closed his eyes, before opening them again. "Oh, yeah, raised by a group of wild dogs in Africa." He teased and I punched his shoulder playfully with my hand that wasn't stuck with needles. "Lions!" I said. "Oh, right, wild dog lions." I growled again, but the threat was quickly deflated when a smile and slight giggle escaped my lips when Fastman stuck his tongue out at me. "Oh, so she smiles **and **laughs, impressive." I punched him again and he let out an over-dramatic "ow." But, the happy mood quickly diminished when I said, "I have to go home. I can't just stay here." It was almost a whisper, but he still heard me. He continued to persist and somehow I agreed to stay… at least, until I was fully healed from my injuries.

"And maybe join the team? We could definitely use someone like you." I looked at him shocked. "He wants me, a girl he, the Batman, and Green Arrows just rescued from the wilderness of Zimbabwe to join their Team?" I thought over this and after much consideration I realized that there must be an ulterior motive for why he wanted me to join the JLA, as he called it. "You want me to join the Justice League of America?" I asked. He paused for a moment in thought before answering my question. "Well not exactly, we have a branch within the Justice League, the Young Justice, which you'll be working with." I didn't even have to ask what the Young Justice was; he could tell I didn't know who they were by the look I gave him. "They're like the Justice League, just younger superheroes, about your age and younger. If you work hard enough and get more experience you can kind of 'graduate' to the big boys." Flash also told me of how many of the YJ had done that, including: the girl who put the spell on me-Zatanna, and Rocket, and even the Flash himself, who had earlier been called Kid Flash. He kept persisting on me joining, and before I could give an answer I heard the door he had earlier been leaning on slide open with a "whoosh" sound.

A woman I had not seen before walked into the room. She was wearing green scrubs and a red cross on her hat, signifying she was with the medical unit at the Watchtower. She didn't look like a super human, just a regular person. "Miss," she said, "I'm Sadie, I'm going to help you with your bandages." The woman looked kind and had a copper tent to her brown hair. Her hair looked like it had been tied up tight in a bun, but a few pieces of hair were already beginning to fall out of their proper position. I listened to her talk and guessed that she was around 30 years old. She turned her head from me and looked at the grinning Flash. "It seems he is always grinning," I thought and shook my head lightly at the thought. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave," he didn't change his large smile and continued to gaze at me. He just didn't get what the nurse was saying. Sadie gave out a huff of impatient air. "… because the patient will have to undress in order for me to get to the wound and re-bandage it." Ok, now he got it.

He stood up from his chair and the smile briefly disappeared. He was half way to the door before he turned around and shouted towards me. "Hey, I never caught your name." I thought for a moment. He wanted to know my name? It was weird hearing someone ever ask for my name; actually no one really ever called me by my name. Well, with the exception for Ellie, of course. Dindingwe, Monkey, Gina, and Leon (if they ever used a name for me) would always just call me "child," nothing else. I looked back at the red suited man and spoke. "Why do you want to know my name?" I asked. He looked at me as if it was a stupid question.

"Because, since you already know mine, I should at least know yours. I can't tell who you are with that mask you are wearing." When he mentioned my mask I touched my face. I felt the still soft fur of my mask and smiled. After all these years, it still had the softness it did when I got it. But, I was confused. That's funny. Didn't Master Leon and Dindingwe say that whenever someone would have the chance they would remove it to see what I was hiding? I thought this to myself and my smile returned again. Maybe, just maybe, they were different, yes? Ok, now I will tell him my name. I did owe him that for him and his friend saving my life didn't I?

"My name is Delmira, Delmira Najia." I said and saw the smile creep back onto his face. "That's pretty, what does it mean?" I was shocked. "Did he just say my name was pretty?" I asked to myself as I looked down at my hands. I saw the burned part of them and frowned. I was glad the nurse had asked him to leave. Although he strangely comforted me, I didn't want my new friend seeing how burned I was. I could already tell he was one for blabbing on and on, and once he saw my burns I wouldn't hear the end of it. The arm that was burned the most had been covered by the blanket I was under and I was glad for that. Out of all my limbs it was the worst one burned, well one of them. I sighed; I really wished that I remembered how I got them. My only clues were the dreams I had been having, but how reliable could those be, right? I didn't remember any of my past before I started living with the lions and training to be a protector. Well, almost everything. Somehow I still remembered my name. Well, except for the last part of it, which was the most important part in finding out who my parents were. But, for some reason, at that moment, I didn't want to know who they were.

"Delmira, it means the noble protector, and Najia means escape from danger, or safe-haven." His smile widened as he said, "That's really cool Delmira, I wish I had an awesome name like that," I smiled. "Thanks, my parents wanted my name to mean something important." Woah, did that just come out of **my** mouth? The Flash continued to walk out the door and waved his hand behind him. "Well, see you around Delmira."

I gave a smile and laughed inwardly at myself as the nurse removed the tubes and wiring from my body. I never really smiled before when I was living with the lionesses. Don't get me wrong, the lionesses always seemed to smile and have a good time, but they never really **liked me**. But, they never really hated my either, Master Leon had made sure of that. I could tell even as a child, that they didn't like me very much. From time to time I could see them giving me dirty looks and laughing at me when I messed up. As I got older I went on hunts with them. And every once in a while they would purposely sabotage my hunt so I would mess up and ultimately get hurt. I remember one time, a couple of months after I had started hunting with them- before I had gotten my cheetah mask- that they had played one of their tricks on me.

_It was one of the hottest days I remember during my time living with Master Leon and his lionesses. I never really saw Leon unless I was training with him, but I somehow always knew he was watching me. It was October, so the air was dry and we got very little rain. And little rain equaled little food, some nights we were lucky if we even got a small boar to eat. Of course, I never ate the meat anyway, and the lionesses made fun of me for that. "She's a little plant eater. She's never going to be like us." They said. They made fun of me, told me since I didn't eat meat I was just a walking tree. "Little Stick" they called me. _

_We were creeping along a dry path, hiding behind trees to try to go unseen if there was an animal out there. I was trying really hard to make my foot-steps quiet like the other girls, but it was harder when you were a "two-walker." The area we were in was very dry and the trees were shriveled looking and burnt. I guessed there had been a fire recently. As I was looking around I didn't notice a twig next to my foot and when I continued walking I stepped on it. It made a light crunching noise under my foot, but it was loud enough for me to get scolded by one of the older lionesses. Just as I looked back away from her and to where I was walking I saw that one of the younger lionesses, Lea, had spotted a stray boar and was stalking it quietly. It looked like it was hurt and I let out a small moan at the scene. Of course, I was careful not to let the other ones hear me. I had already been given the speech of the stupid "Circle of Life." There was a small clearing where the boar was limping. The oldest lioness, Clara, gave us a nod and we executed the attach plan. When I started to do my part Sierra went up to me and whispered, "Hey, you wanta prove yourself, don't you?" I nodded, of course I did. Sierra began telling me a plan on how to prove myself and get the other lionesses and Master Lion to like me. The next thing I remember is me being on the ground and the boar gone. I had banged my head pretty good and heard the lionesses laughing at me. Just then I stopped hearing their laughter and felt a large body come before me. I was on the ground in the position of a dead bug on its back and I looked up. Master Leon was looking down at me and asked, "Are you okay, child?" I nodded and he turned back to the now quiet lionesses. "You idiot females! Do you not know what you have done? We will again go hungry; head back to the cave and stay quiet. NOW!" With that the girls headed back in single file with unemotional faces. _

_Leon gave a disapproved nod when he looked back at me and walked away. When we reached back to the cave it was dark. The lionesses slept in a circle around Master Leon, while I was in the corner near the hard, dusty wall. __**(**__**it was like the Lion King cave if you were wondering**__) I was ashamed of myself, falling for a trick like that, and I was pretty sure Master Leon was ashamed of me too. I wrapped my arms around my chest and pulled my knees towards me. After a while I lifted my head away from my knees and felt something wet fall onto them. Of course I was crying! I wiped my eyes with the back of my arm and sniffled. I heard footsteps by me and I looked around. Dindingwe was walking with refinement towards me and her tail was swinging. "What is wrong, child?" She asked and I gave a sob. "I am fine." But, Dindingwe didn't believe me. She seemed to always know when I was lying to her. She sat down next to me and somehow got me to tell her everything that was wrong. "They hate me! They tease me." I cried as I leaned into the cheetah's spongy fur. "Shhhh, it's okay." She kept repeating as she tried to comfort me. "I do not belong here, I am useless, a mere nuisance." Dindingwe moved away from me and made me look into her warm brown eyes. _

"_You are not useless, my child. Although you do not see it now, you will do very great things, things that will help not only the animals of Africa, but also of the people of the world. Do you understand me?" I nodded and then turned away from her, and looked back at the sleeping lionesses. "But, the lioness…" I didn't have to complete my sentence for the female cheetah to know what I was saying. "The lionesses do not know you like I do. I have seen what you do, what you have been through. You are not like any other human I have seen before. You care for the welfare fare of others and are willing to put your life on the line for others." I smiled and nodded at Dindingwe, showing her I understood. She smiled and walked back out of the cave through the shadows. _

The nurse finished her work and re-wrapped my bandages on my chest. I soon fell asleep remembering of all the times Dindingwe made me feel better with her kind words and warm hugs. I would never feel out of place with the lions or other animals again. But, I still never showed anyone what my face **really** looked like. I never took off my mask in front of others. I slowly fell back asleep again to the sound of the ticking clock.

**Page 29**


	5. Chapter 5 New Intel

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 5

**I own nothing except my character and her family and animal family, and the plot sequence**

**All other material goes to DC and its creators and writers**

New Intel

Wally, also known as the Flash, walked away with a small smile on his face. He had just talked to probably one of the cutest girls he had ever seen. Well, one of them anyway, but not number one. He was about to speed away to go to his favorite room in the whole Watchtower, the kitchen, when he saw a familiar green clothed man. Flash's smile disappeared. The man was leaning on the wall closest to the door and pushed himself off with his boot as Flash continued his journey. The man in green jogged up to the Flash and looked over at him. "So…" Flash didn't respond to the man's attempt to start a conversation, and continued his fast walking. "Did you learn anything?" Green Arrow asked and the Flash turned his head to look at the archer. "Why do you care?" he asked with a sharp tongue and Green Arrow blocked his saunter by putting his arm in front of Flash. "What is that supposed to mean?" Green Arrow's eyebrows knitted together in confusion and his body became tense. He didn't like the way the younger hero was talking to him. He'd had enough of teenager tantrums during his partnership with Speedy… (Scratch that) Red Arrow, and didn't want more with this red hero. Flash gave out a gruff sound as if GA's question was brainless. He stiffened his shoulders and looked down at the slightly shorter hero. "Well, one thing I learned is that she wants to go home, of course she can't do that because she's stuck in a billion dollar super hero powered space-ship in the sky! Or did you forget that?" Flash's voice was slowly escalading with the explanation and other heroes who were in the passage started to turn around and stare.

Green Arrow roughly yanked on the speedster's arm and pulled him to the side. "Alright," the archer said in a fatherly tone. "What's going on?" The Flash's body stopped shaking and let out a breath of air. At this, GA let go of his arm. "Look, I know you're still upset about Artemis'…" The archer stopped when Flash looked away at the thought of what happened to the love of his life. Green Arrow let out a sigh. He also missed his former side-kick, who he'd helped join the Team. He continued, "But this is no way to handle this. Blowing up at every little thing isn't good for you. Arty wouldn't have wanted this." The two heroes' eyes softened and the scarlet speedster looked up and nodded his head in fierce determination. "Besides, I didn't want to kidnap that girl anyway, especially the way we did, but it looked like if we hadn't showed up she would have died from heat exhaustion or something worse. We were just taking orders from Batman." Green Arrow walked away a little before he turned back around and smiled. "Besides, I'm excited to see what she knows." He was about to turn back around before he remembered something again. "Oh, speaking of Batman, he called for a meeting in the conference room, better hurry up. He doesn't like when you're late." Flash smiled and sped away in the opposite direction to meet with the dark hero.

* * *

"I can't believe I'm late, again. Bats is gonna kill me!" The Flash yelled to himself as he sped down the hallway. He ignored the yells and curses from the other heroes for making the large winds in the hallway. He screeched to a stop and slowly walked up to the conference room where the other original eight would meet. The door made an awkward squeak and he poked his head through to see Batman and Green Arrow waiting expectantly. He closed the door and sat down beside Green Arrow. "Why are you late again, Flash?" Batman asked with a stern look as if he was about to slap Flash for being late again. Flash looked down at his hands and stumbled for words at what to say. Hey, it's pretty hard to think of an answer when the best interrogator in history was glaring at you. "I, um, went to the cafeteria… and um, got hungry, so…" The Flash was about to continue but Batman interrupted his struggle to talk and continued with the meeting. He was talking of what happened when they met her, what went wrong, what went right, etcetera, but Flash didn't pay attention until he heard Batman ask him a question. "What did you learn from the suspect?" Flash yanked his head towards Batman and got a little upset. "Well, first of all, her name isn't 'suspect' it's Delmira. Second of all, I didn't really learn anything. You seem to forget I don't interrogate hospital patients like you do." The Flash folded his arms together and leaned back against the chair. After a few minutes he continued, realizing the Dark Knight wasn't fazed by his comment. "I learned her name is Delmira Najia. Delmira, it means the noble protector, and Najia means escape from danger, or safe-haven. She said her parents wanted her name to mean something. But, by the way she was talking, I don't think she knew, or remembered, much of anything about them. She was also raised in the wild of Zimbabwe, it seems, most of her life." Batman nodded his head and turned to Green Arrow who had been listening keenly to the conversation. "Is there anything that comes to mind about your brother and his wife's disappearance that would relate to that?" Green Arrow thought for a moment and rubbed his hand through his beard, thinking. After a while he stopped and leaned his elbows on the table.

"Well, they went to Zimbabwe to help with the animal poaching and deforestation there, but I never heard anything about a girl." Batman nodded and turned back to the screen. "How long ago was that?" Batman's gruff voice asked as he moved things around in the large computer screen on the wall. GA's eyes widened in realization and he leaned up in his chair. "I'd say about twenty years ago. Flash, how old do you think that girl is?" Flash was about to reply when the door slammed open. There was Kid Flash standing in the door way with a joyful look on his face. Batman turned around and was about to reprimand the boy for his intrusion when the young speedster began shouting quickly. "I'm sorry for interrupting, but Wally… um, I mean Flash," Bart turned to Flash. "Nightwing's back!" A smile popped up from both speedsters' faces and they sped out of the room. This left a confused Green Arrow and upset Batman in the conference room. Flash knew that Batman was upset for him leaving, but he didn't care. He was too excited to see his old friend again. Batman could give him a speech about not leaving during a meeting later.

* * *

Everything went by in a blur of colors and capes as Flash flew by next to Bart to reach the Young Justice unit of the Justice League. It had been months since Flash had seen or heard of what Nightwing had been up to. He was still in _Blüdhaven_ for all Flash knew. After they had defeated the Reach and located Flash Nightwing all but disappeared. Flash's thoughts screeched to a stop when he and Kid Flash arrived at the large doors of Flash's old team. Kid Flash and Flash bluntly stopped and their feet stood firmly on the floor while their bodies rocked to and fro trying to balance themselves with the lower speed. Once steady, Flash pushed open the doors with Bart at his heels, it seemed the whole team was there welcoming their old leader. As Flash and Bart started to walk towards Nightwing the older speedster noticed some different things about the former Boy Wonder. His hair had gotten longer again. It now arrived at the tips of his shoulders and even though Nightwing had on a domino mask Flash noticed his eyes were different too. They no longer held the childish mischief they had months before. As Nightwing had gotten older he had gotten less and less immature. When he was Robin his eyes had held so much mischief, so much joy, but now, his eyes held nothing close to juvenile. The dark, blue orbs were focused now, serious, powerful, and with more experience behind them. Flash's broad smile appeared and he thought to himself, "I guess that's what comes with the job when in the Bat family, cleaning out Gotham's streets."

Everyone was crowded around the first Boy Wonder, bombarding him with questions of his journey while on leave. He happily complied, trying to answer everyone's questions the best he could. As Flash and Kid Flash walked closer eyes started to settle on them. The younger heroes of the Justice League began parting for the older Speedster, and a small smile crept on his face. Ever since Flash became an official member of the Justice League, and a founding member, to that, most began looking up to him. Well, at least, most of the members younger than him that were part of the Young Justice did. The others who had been part of the JLA longer than him, or were older, just thought that he was an immature speedster who took Barry Allen's place. Sometimes it still bothered Flash that they thought that, but he kept smiling. He knew he was a valuable member, and he didn't have to prove that to him. He'd get his chance.

Flash entered the crowd of younger superheroes and put his red gloved hand on Nightwing's shoulder, welcoming him. Nightwing acknowledged it with a smile and nod. "So, why'd you decide to come back?" Flash asked, and he noticed the smug smile on Nightwing's face disappear and he became serious. Nightwing waited a while before his eyes widened with an answer. "I just missed the gang, that's all." Flash dropped his hand from his friend's shoulder and took a step back. "Okay, but couldn't you have come back earlier." The speedster asked his best friend. There was another pause before Nightwing answered. "Just busy cleaning up the streets of Gotham." Flash didn't buy it. He could tell that that wasn't the real answer, but he wouldn't push it. Right now was a time for a celebration of the re-uniting of one of the original members and the team.

After about two hours of celebrating, people began to disperse and the party slowly ended. After a while only Aqualad, Superboy, M'Gann, Nightwing, and Flash were left and the room was quiet, the only sound was Flash munching on probably the sixth bag of Cheetos he had had that night. Aqualad stood up and looked around the room. "It is late now, and we have a long day tomorrow. Get some sleep." With that the Atlantian leader left the room with the electronic door swooshing closed behind him. After a few minutes Nightwing got up from the couch he was lounging on and stood up, stretching his arms. "Well, it's late and I have to get back to Blüdhaven. I've got college to go to tomorrow." And with that Nightwing left the room the same way Aqualad had moments before. After a few more minutes Flash pushed off of the wall he'd been leaning on and walked outside of the room. He crumbled up the now empty Cheetos bag and threw it over his shoulder into a trashcan nearby.

Flash walked a little while down the corridor in the direction of Delmira's medical bay room. As Flash neared the room he saw a man watching Delmira sleep in her hospital like bed. Flash began to walk quicker, he didn't like the way the dark haired man was watching her. As Flash reached the man he realized who it was. "I thought you had school tomorrow." Flash questioned the raven haired man, but he didn't turn around and just remained facing Delmira and didn't respond. Flash stood next to him and faced Delmira's window. "Now tell me the truth. I know that wasn't what you were doing in Blüdhaven." After a few moments the man sighed and looked back at Flash. "How'd you get that?" He asked still not answering Flash's question. It was always like Nightwing to not answer the questions, but just ask for more. "Dude, I always know when you're lying." Nightwing raised an eyebrow under his mask. Obviously he didn't believe that. The intense glare was starting to bug the scarlet speedster and Flash awkwardly switched from foot to foot. A deep constricting feeling was starting to form in the bottom of his throat and Flash caved into the pressure.

"Okay! Jeez the Night-glare is worse than the Bat-glare. You mentioned cleaning up Gotham, but you 'work' in Blüdhaven." Flash raised his red gloved hand and put quotes around the word "work," and Nightwing gave a light chuckle. "Alright, alright, you caught me." Then, Nightwing became serious and turned back to the window. "During my time from the team I had started to hear in one of my classes that in Zimbabwe a girl had recently popped out of nowhere and was now protecting the wild animals from poachers and illegal loggers. At first I thought it was just a girl trying to play hero, but that was until I heard that the animals around her area had started to act weird and that the girl had super human abilities. That's when I started to investigate. Flash…" Nightwing stopped and looked over at Flash for the speedster's attention. "Flash, she's Green Arrow's niece… his real one." Flash was exasperated, but somehow he expected this. In a way the girl looked just like Oliver, was around the age his niece would be, and lived in the same area Green Arrow's brother and sister-in-law disappeared. All arrows were green and pointing right at her… literally. Nightwing then asked Flash to tell him everything he knew about the girl. "Well, her name is Delmira Najia, she doesn't remember much of anything about her family, she was raised by animals, and that's about it." Nightwing continued to look at Flash, showing that he didn't believe that that was all Flash knew about her. Flash might be impatient and headstrong, but he is one of the best people in gathering information from his surroundings.

Flash let out a breath of air and slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Ok, fine. Let's see…" Flash looked up for a moment and folded his strong arms in thought. After a few moments Flash snapped his fingers, looked at Nightwing, and smiled. "She's about 5'8, has light blonde hair with golden high lights, and the most amazing eyes. They're a bright crystal blue with the lightest lime green in the middle and on the edges. Oh! And when she smiles it's like they light up. And her teeth, oh man, their like pearls, and her canines are sharper than ours, I guess it's part of her animal adaptations, but still. And she has quite the temper when angry, I thought she has going to dislocate my jaw again, I think I even saw her eyes flash to a cat-like version of her human eyes. That's about all I could tell since she still had her mask on. Oh, and it seems she has trouble with her dreams and doesn't trust humans very much, which is understandable considering where and how she was raised. But, when I was watching her through the window she was trembling in her bed when she was sleeping, even shouting "Moyo" in her sleep, whatever that means. And, that's about it." Nightwing nodded bluntly and had a look of determination on his face. He was probably eager to get back home and look into this with the new intel. "Flash, there is something up with her, I want you to keep an eye on her, and make sure she doesn't get hurt."

Flash was going to do that anyway, but he didn't get why his old time friend from the original team was telling **him** this. Why was this girl so important to Nightwing that he needed Flash to take care of this girl? Delmira was tough; she was the last person Flash could imagine needing help. As Nightwing turned to leave, Flash grabbed his arm. Nightwing turned a little and looked at the arm Flash was still holding and the speedster let go. "Flash, I want you to make sure she's safe. Don't let her get hurt, she's a vital part to finding out why Green Arrow's brother and wife disappeared years ago and there are reasons to believe she was a key to why the wild animals were acting weird in Africa." Nightwing began to walk away when Flash stopped him again.

"Are you sure that's the only reason you want to keep her safe?" He said and Nightwing stopped in his tracks a few feet away. But, he didn't turn around and just walked away to the Zeta-tubes and back to Blüdhaven.

Flash turned back around to the window to watch the mystery girl as her chest fell and rose in a calming motion. Her hair was messed around her peaceful, almost golden face, and she was resting with her back to the bed. The blanket only came to the middle of her stomach. Flash pressed his nose closer to the glass window and saw something he hadn't noticed about her before. Right below the sleeve of her hospital gown on her right arm was a mark that was lighter than the rest of her tan skin. The skin looked disintegrated and was misshapen. It was a burn mark! Flash gasped, and stumbled back a little bit. "How have I not noticed this before?" Flash asked himself and began to get angry. He looked closer, burns were all over her! "Has she always had that? Did she get that earlier, while we were fighting?" As more and more questions swam through 22 year old Flash's head he got angrier and angrier. How could he have not noticed this before? Flash pounded on the small ledge of the window and felt it shake a little with the impact. He put both his elbows down and rested on the ledge with his head between his strong, gloved arms. All of the sudden his anger disappeared and he looked up at the sleeping Delmira. "Artemis…" He whispered and a small half smile crept across his lips. Arty always said he had a slight temper problem and teased him, but she never bothered him about it. She had known why, it was because of his past and his abusive father. "Artemis, I don't know what to do, I need your help." A single tear fell from under Flash's mask and he wiped it away slowly and his body began to shake. Flash stood up from his spot, sniffled, and took a deep breath. When he started to walk away, he said quietly, "I wasn't able to save Artemis, but now, I'll do anything in my power to make up for that. I'll use everything in my power to protect Delmira from the troubles of the world."

**Author's Note: So, there's some tension between Flash and Green Arrow about how Delmira was brought to the Watch Tower, but why should Flash be so upset over a girl that he barely knew? Or is Flash letting out some built up anger towards Green Arrow over something that happened to Artemis? Also, hey hey hey, Nightwing's been introduced! Who else is excited about seeing what the Boy Wonder has up his sleeves? But why is this girl so important to _Nightwing_ that he needed to personally tell Flash to take care of her?**


	6. Chapter 6 Smirk

The Girl of the Wild Ch.6

Smirk

When I woke up that morning I wasn't in the best of moods. Whatever medicine they had given me the day before had worn off and I was now at the highest awareness. Oh, and I didn't like where I was. When I realized what had happened the day before and that I was away from my home I started thrashing and screaming swears at anyone who came at me. I was not happy and wanted to be home. A group of male nurses rushed inside the room with worried looks and quickly ran to my bed side to sedate me.

"Don't touch me! Don't touch me! Don't touch me... let me go!" I screamed as I grabbed the closest male nurse-who was currently trying to take my blood- by the collar. "I want out! Get me back NOW!" I shouted and thrashed around, making the medical bay cot shake around like there was an earthquake. I grabbed the safety rails on the edge and tried to get up, but the nurses pushed me down again. "Regedza enda!" **"Let go!"** I seethed, but they didn't stop. As I felt my eyes shift from a human look to cat-like a large red blur ran past me creating a strong breeze and making my hair blow to the side in a flurry. My eyes widened as I heard a screech and looked from the nurses to a familiar red-suited man standing next to them with large eyes. Well, large white lenses actually, he still wore the pesky mask I have always seen him wear. My mouth opened to show my large pearl white canines to him in a growl. I could tell it scared him at first, probably because I had seemed open to him the day before and because my canines were so sharp they almost looked like a cats, especially considering how angry I was right now. He looked at the male nurses with a questioning look, and the one closest to him spoke. "She won't take the medication we're trying to give to her." He stated simply as they tried to tie down the restraints by the bed. "Munyepi!" **"Liar!" **I then turned to Flash and my eyes softened. "Please, don't make me take those. I am not so attentive when I take them," I tried to give him my best "puppy dog eyes" and softened them so they returned to their normal blue and green. My rose colored lips slowly turned shape, pulling the ends downward in a small frown. Of course that didn't last long when he replied, "I don-know babe, maybe you should take your medicine. It'll make you less irritable." He smiled as he crossed his large arms that were covered with the elastic cloth of his suit. He looked kind or attractive when he stood by me with his strong arms crossed and a small smirk on his face. Wait a second… WHAT?! "What do you mean, 'less irritable'?" I scream questioned as the nurses stopped what they were doing and looked at the battle that would soon ensue.

I don't remember the next remark, but, I do remember it angered me. I whipped around in the bed again like before and was again screaming at the nurses to let me go. Of course, they didn't. I was cat-hissing again and my eyes had turned, once again, to the look of that of a cat. "Come on babe, calm down!" The speed-man attempted and my head wrenched to look at him sternly. "What!" I hissed and Flash soon regretted it. I jumped up in the bed and reached over to Flash with sharpened nails. Flash "flashed" into a different spot a few feet away from me and my bed. This continued for a while until Flash started to get tired. When he started to huff and puff he decided to try a different approach on calming me. He slowly crept up to me at the head of the medical bay bed. And, when I say slowly, I mean slowly. For the "fastest man alive" -as he called himself- he could move really slowly. He got closer to me and my body tensed; whatever he was trying to do, I didn't like it. He was now next to me and reached out his muscular arms to envelope me in a hug. At first it was nice, having a new sense of warmth around me. Even though I was under the covers it was still cold. I was used to it being almost ninety degrees at home and a cool, air-conditioned, 75, was not comfortable for me. I pulled my arms close to me and bent them so that my soft hands were lightly drenched across his strong chest. It was nice and comfortable. I could never do this with the other members of my pride, or my friends.

I silently rested my head below his chin and a small sigh escaped my lips. Even though I couldn't see his face, I felt him smile above me at that. But, I didn't care. Overall, it was nice, comfortable, and gave me a warm sensation in my chest that made me want to stay like that forever. Of course, like everything else with the Flash, it didn't last long. I felt one of his arms that were drenched around my waist and back leave and reach over to a table by the bed. At first I didn't think anything of it, until I felt a small metal object near me. I looked up from his chest and saw him holding a needle with the liquid the nurses were trying to give me earlier. I tried to snatch it out of his hand, but it didn't work. He was the Flash after all, and even for my cat-like reflexes, he was too fast for me. My eyes flashed a little when he moved instantaneously from me to a different spot some feet away. He still held the hypodermic needle with his pointer finger through the loop on the flange piece and his thumb on the end of the thumb rest. He crept closer to me with an uncanny, lopsided smile on his molded face. He smiled and said, "Grab her arms." My eyes widened and I clenched my hands together to make fists. I was ready to put up a fight. After growing up my whole life in the wilderness of Zimbabwe, I wasn't fond of things I wasn't use to. And, I was not used to getting injected with a strange liquid that made me act different. The bulky looking male nurses- probably sent when a meta-human like me didn't want to take her shots- jumped next to me and grabbed my wrists and ankles. There were two on each of my limbs, besides my head, but they still were having a hard time controlling me. Thank you, animal strength!

Anyway, as they were holding me down I started seething and spitting at them, shouting curse words in Shona. Of course, due to the spell Zatanna put on me, a few American cuss words probably escaped my tongue. I kicked and flailed my arms and legs, but nothing really worked. As I was doing this I didn't realize that a dark figure in blue and black spandex had entered the medical bay room where I was. Flash got closer to me and put his hand behind my head. When he leaned closer to me and put his free arm on my shoulder to inject the medicine I did something he didn't expect. I head-butted him and bit into his forearm with my cat-fangs. He stumbled back and whispered something inaudible, clutching his arms with the hypodermic needle still in hand. As I continued throwing a fit I heard a deep monotone voice chime in with a laugh. "Now, Wally, you know that's no way to treat a lady." The voice snickered. I slowly tore my eyes away from the gleaming needle to where the source of the voice was. There, standing by the doorway was a man, about my age, with dark, shaggy night-black hair and a mysterious smirk. "Lion's roar, did he just smirk?" I thought to myself. Of course, my thoughts quickly turned back to the needle that was pointed at me. I let out a low, threatening growl. I didn't like so many people being so close to me at one time. I was just starting to get used to being with people period. I looked at Smirkey and gave a beseeching look towards him. He sighed and sauntered over to the bed where I and the frozen Flash were.

He placed one of his gloved hands on my arm that had been held for the shot. He looked down at it sadly and then back at Flash. His features hardened and he squinted his eyes in a slight scowl. "Wally, if she doesn't want to take the shot she doesn't have to." Flash looked from Smirkey, to me. He sighed and took a step back. Whoa, did Smirkey just defend me? I was baffled and looked down at my now unclenched hands in confusion. I looked away when I saw some of the burnt part of my hands. When I was starting to zone out I felt subtle warmth enclose around my left hand. I turned my head and saw the mysterious man's hand holding mine. His glove was gone and I noticed a few things I had not picked up before. His hands were large and strong with calluses on the palms. I pulled my hand away slowly, unsure if this was an intimate gesture for humans. His hands showed me he worked with his hands, like he'd been using them with his work for years. I remember my father had always said that you could tell a lot about someone by the details of their hands. And, by seeing his hands I could tell this mystery man was a strong, hard worker. The man cleared his throat and I looked up at him. "Flash told me you'd be staying here as a member of the Justice League for a while." I nodded. "Well, seeing you're better, we've made a room for you to stay in… seeing you can't stay in the medical bay since you're no longer ill." He stopped and looked back at the Flash. Then, to me he said, "If you'll come with me, I'll take you to your room." Smirkey let go of my hand and started to walk away from me towards the entrance. When I didn't move he looked over his shoulder, and the lenses of his black domino mask narrowed and he smirked again. "Coming?" He simply asked and I tried to get up from the bed.

Of course, like the last time I got up, I fell. I wasn't as close to the ground as I had been last time, but I could still tell it had been a close call. I leaned my chin up to see the face of the person who caught me. This time, Flash wasn't the one who caught me. It was the dark haired man. One of his arms was around my back, the other delicately placed behind my ear where my mask ended. I felt his masked eyes desirously stare into my blue eyes with the vibrant green encircling them. Smirkey started to lean into me and slowly pull me closer. His hair slightly fell into his face from that titled angle and perfectly complemented his chiseled face and strong outlined jaw. For some reason something was pulling me to lean closer too, closer to his handsome face.

But, all of the sudden I was lifted up and was back on my feet again. I grabbed my head in nausea at the sudden change in position. After I got my bearings I looked back at Smirkey. He was looking down at the floor with uncertainty etched across his features and I placed my unburned hand on his shoulder. Through this whole meeting I had not seen him like this, so uncertain. He looked back at me and it got quiet. "Why don't I introduce you to your new room?" He said this a little loud, but I smiled and nodded.

We began walking to the exit and I stole a glance at the man who had, in a sense, rescued me. His face was stern and chiseled, with a strong set jaw, and long shaggy hair that reached the nape of his neck and stopped where his shoulders started to jut out. Smirkey somehow noticed I was studying him and looked back at me. I swiftly hid my face from his gazing eyes and looked down at my fumbling hands. Then I saw him smirk through my peripheral vision.

As we continued to walk down the hallway I resorted to looking feebly around my surroundings to avoid the guy's gaze. The hallway was not at all the warm, friendly, natural environment I was used to. The hallway was gray and had metal everywhere. The tiles on the ground were metal, the doors to the rooms were metal, and the ceiling was metal. My face saddened and I began to frown. "Is a nice plant or two and some dirt really that hard to ask?" Somehow Mr. Mysterious noticed me looking around and a quiet sound escaped his lips. I jerked my head towards him and slightly bared my teeth in annoyance. Again the man made the sound and I realized he was laughing at me. "What?" I asked with a sharp tongue. He looked slightly down at me and gave his signature leer. "First time in the Watchtower takes you back a little, I know from experience. It's pretty amazing." He said this like he was proud and when he faced away from me it was my turn to scoff. Smirkey threw a look toward me like he didn't know whether to be angry or just shocked.

His mask moved down slightly where I guessed his eyebrows were, like he was focusing on trying to figure out why I laughed at him. "I actually think it looks terrible." Smirkey turned his head away like he was going to laugh at me. We walked a little longer for a few minutes before he got curious again and turned his gaze back to me. "And why is that?" I turned to him. "Well," I responded. "There is not any nature here. Where is the flora? The fauna? The Fast-man talked like it was a magnificent place where 'little heroes like me' dreamed of being. But all I see is a big metal box." The dark haired hero started to look serious and said a little quieter, "I'll take that into consideration with the Bat." There was that name again. Who is this 'Bat' everyone keeps talking about? After a while I concluded that it must be someone really important since he has been mentioned so much already.

After a few more minutes of walking we stopped. I turned back to the man that was about two or three inches taller than me and waited. He didn't respond and instead grabbed my wrist and pulled me along behind him. We were walking quicker and, after being in bed for a few days, I was having a difficult time following him without tripping. I was about to yank off his fingers that were encircled around my arm when we stopped again and he released it. I narrowed my eyes at him and they switched slightly into a more cat-like look. I didn't appreciate being pulled down a dark hallway. Yelling at him was the first thing that was on my mind. That was until I looked to where his was pointing and my jaw went slightly ajar from its clamped position. My eyes widened in shock and then went back to their normal human look.

The sight I saw before me was the most spectacular sight I had ever seen. There, standing before me, was a gigantic room filled with strange beeping machines and people dressed up in unique uniforms. Their attire was filled with bright colors and symbols, most with a mask to hide the identity of the person. Some of them were not wearing a mask, but that didn't stop me from figuring out who they were. They were the superheroes Flash had been talking about. It was pretty amazing seeing other people that tried to help the same way I do. However, that was not what amazed me the most.

I ran out across the room to the place where my attention had been grabbed. There, standing before me, was a gigantic window the size of the wall, and outside that window were billions of bright stars dazzling in the black sky. Down below was the Earth with its beautiful green and blue colors and white, wispy clouds. In all my days I had never seen anything like it. As I stood hovering over the scene with my hands pressed against the glass I felt the black and blue superhero, I had given the name "Smirkey", walk towards me. I looked over to see him looking down at the Earth as I was seconds before. His chest was puffed out and his arms were being held behind his back in patience as I marveled over the Earth and stars.

After what seemed like a nice ten minutes of silence I had to ask a question that had been bugging me since the incident in the medical bay. I pursed my lips before deciding to talk the mystery man who saved me earlier. I decided to go ahead and speak. "Who, um…" I faltered. I took a deep breath before catching my bearings and decided to go ahead and ask what was on my mind. "Why did you call Flash Wally?" I looked over to him and saw that he was a little held-back at my question. Then he decided to go ahead and talk. "Why don't you ask Flash that when you see him next? Hmm?" And with that he looked back down at the Earth below. Now I was finally able to go to my new room The Justice League had given to me. Of course, I would end up coming back soon to look at this scene again. I turned to Smirkey and delicately put my hand on his shoulder again, signaling I was ready to go. He nodded and we began to walk again.

A few moments later I noticed me and this still unnamed hero were going in the same direction we came from. "Um… Smirkey? Are we not going back to which we have come?" I said quietly, somehow unsure of myself when I talked to him. When he didn't respond to me I turned back and shrank my shoulders in sadness. That's until I heard a snicker come from Mr. Tall, Dark, and Nameless. I questioned him and again he laughed. "Smirkey?" he asked and I relaxed and shrugged my shoulders. "Well, I do not know your name and you do tend to make that half-smile that tends to…" Smirkey's eyebrows lifted and I stopped what I was about to say. I was lucky, because I was about to say something to him that I would have regretted. "I like the nick-name… but I don't think that would be very intimidating to the people back in Blüdhaven. Nightwing's the name." I smiled; it was nice to have someone from the team with a name that involved animals. It reminded me of my home back in Zimbabwe. I was too busy gazing up at Nightwing dreamily to notice a few feet away Flash was scowling at us, especially Nightwing.

We stopped in front of two large doubled doors and Nightwing pushed them open with little to no effort. But, looking at the doors I noticed that they were quite heavy. "I guess his superpower is super-strength, yes?" Before Nightwing went into the room I grabbed his arm, preventing him from moving. "Thank you," I paused and looked down at my hands. "Nightwing," I said to finish my sentence. He nodded and looked down at the arm I still held. His arm was tough and warm. It was almost twice the width of my arm. "Lion's roar, somebody works out." I thought to myself as I smirked and my cheeks got warm and turned slightly pink above my tan face. "I'm blushing!" I thought and let go of his arm and whispered under my breath, "Thank goodness I am wearing a mask." He smiled and went through the doors. I followed behind him.

The room looked very different from the hallways Nightwing and I had walked before. There was carpeting in the room! Oh, Lion's roar, how I missed rooms not covered in metal! I smiled widely and ran over to the nearest couch and plopped on-top. I laid my hands over the couch's back and looked towards Nightwing who was talking animatedly to a familiar looking green girl a few feet away. His hands were out, motioning towards her to try to tell her my situation. The girl looked from him over towards me and gave a warm smile. Her light green lips formed into a thin line over her white teeth that perfectly contrasted with her green skin. She also had red hair that was styled into a short bob-cut with thick side bangs. After a few more minutes she came towards me and spoke with a light, cheerful voice. Well, actually she floated, but you know…

"So Nightwing tells me you need a place to stay?" She spoke as she landed gracefully by the couch where I was still reclining. My chin had been resting on the soft fabric on the back of the couch where the pillows were. I lifted my head and looked up at the green girl. "That is correct," I said drowsily as I yawned and stretched. Another smile came to her lips and she informed me to follow her. She floated back up with her cape flowing behind her in a wave of dark blue. As I followed quickly behind her down the hallway I noticed her costume looked similar to the one I saw the one known as J'ohnn wear. Somehow she noticed my observation and stated, "J'ohnn's my uncle." My blue and green eyes widened in surprise and I stared blankly at her. "How did you…"

"Know what you were thinking? I'm a telepath, I can read minds." Whoa, that's really cool. At that moment I started to think how cool and useful it would be to be able to read minds during battle and how much easier it would be to get information. "But, it's not all it's cut out to be. In the beginning, when I first came to Earth from Mars, it was hard to control my powers. If I was in a room with a large amount of people it would be hard to decipher my own thoughts from theirs. But, after the help from Uncle J'ohnn, I was able to control it. Now I'm one of the strongest telepaths in the Justice League." She smiled and I finally realized why Nightwing had chosen her to help me settle in. I started to think of Nightwing's white sparkling smile and tall, toned body and I felt butterflies in my stomach. "That was strange." I thought and looked over to the floating Martian ahead of me and suddenly felt embarrassed. I gave a nervous laugh and ran over towards her. I poked her shoulder lightly. "Yes," she asked turning to me. "Um, do you hear everything that goes through my head?" I asked gingerly. She gave a pitiful look and told me she only did if she had to or if I wanted her to.

She was very trusting and even told me of her own past and how she had to fight not to go over the edge and 'steal' people's thoughts and memories for information during a fight. She had so much emotion and strength behind her voice when she told me that I began feeling distressed for her about what happened. When I told her what I thought of it she gave a meek smile. "It's okay," she said. "Thanks to my friends and Uncle J'ohnn I have been able to contain my powers. It helps to have a mentor to help you become a better hero and learn from their mistakes." We walked for a while more down the hallway before another thought came to my mind. "Where is Nightwing?" J'ohnn's niece landed her feet on the ground and turned to me. "Oh, I'm not sure. He probably went back to Blüdhaven. Don't worry; he's a very important part to Young Justice. He'll show up sometime, he just tends to disappear without saying a word at times." She paused and looked around, like she was looking to see if anyone was around the corner. Then she turned back to me and smiled. She leaned up a little and whispered in my ear, "I guess he learned it from **his** mentor."

"Well, who's his mentor?" I asked and she looked around again. "Batman." My eyes widened again in shock. "Batman!" I screamed and the Martian took a step away from me and put her pointer finger to her lips and shushed me very loudly. "Nightwing doesn't like being compared or mentioned to Batman, kind of tired of having to live up to the Dark Knight's expectations I guess."

Although I had never had a superhero mentor to live up to before, I knew how it felt to be compared to someone else. It had happened to me multiple times during my training with the lions in my early years. We stopped walking and stood by a door that looked just like the rest.

"Well, here's your door," she said cheerily and the door slid open with a swoosh sound. I stretched out my neck and looked inside the darkened room hazardously. The sound that came out of the Martian's mouth was very different from the laugh I had heard from Smirkey. Her laugh was light and sounded like the sound of bells you would hear in the city near my home in Zimbabwe during the Christmas time. I turned to her. "Don't you worry; soon we will be going to the mall and getting some decorations, and don't worry about not remembering the door number. Most of the teens get something to put on the door that symbolizes them to know which door is theirs. For example, I have a picture of me and my brother Garfield about six years ago when we first met; it's one of my most cherished memories. Well, better get in and get some rest, its late. You'll have a big day tomorrow; it's your first day." Rushing, she pushed me in and after telling me the door code was about to close the door when I stopped it with my hand. The girl looked down and stared. At first I didn't understand what she was looking at and my eyes followed her gaze. By mistake I had pulled out my burned hand and in turn showed her some of my burns. I pulled my arm back and hid it awkwardly behind me. Lucky for me she didn't ask about it and lifted her head back up to look at me. A small smile rose up again and some of the weight on my shoulders lifted.

This girl was nice and I realized she knew that if I wanted to talk about it I would when I was ready. I smiled, this girl was pretty cool. "What is your name?" I asked out of the blue, like random. She smiled again. "My name is M'Gann. Most just call me by my Earth alias Megan…" She paused, "During missions it's Miss Martian. If you need any help just talk in your brain to me. I know it sounds weird, but it'll work. I'm always open for questions and if you want to talk." Miss Martian looked into my eyes past the mask and then to my burned arm. She floated back up into the air and was about to leave when she turned back around and faced me. "Oh! I almost forgot!" She said and raised her eyebrows like she was about to ask a question, which she was. "Nightwing said, 'Kusangana raka naka iwe. Ndino da ku dzidza Shona.'" **"It is good to meet you. I would like to learn Shona." **

"Do you know what that means?" She asked and I gave a cheeky smile showing my sharp canines. "Yes, I do. Tell him…." I paused, thinking of the right thing to say to Smirkey. "Tell him, 'Shona yako i naka. Ndino tariro ku sangana iwe zve ne tino kwanisa pamwe and Iwe waita shamwari yaka naka'." **"Your Shona is good. Perhaps we could meet again and practice. You have a new friend."** She smiled and turned back around.

_Thank you._ I said it to my brain and saw another smile rise on Miss Martian's face. _You're welcome. I will see you tomorrow. Good night. _It was strange talking in my head to a green Martian from space, but who was I to judge? I turned back around and went into the room. The door close behind me and the lights turned on. The room was pretty big and was filled with dim, yellow lights and had a plain white sheeted bed with- it looked like- three layers of cloth. Each was thicker than the other and it was strange for me to see such white cloth untouched and unused. In all my years of living in Zimbabwe I had never used cloth for a bed. When I was living in the lions' den I had slept on a hard stone floor with little to no comfort and Leon and his lionesses surrounded all around me.

I continued to look around the room. The bed was in the middle of a wall next to the wall the door was on. On the right of the same wall where the door was there was a walk-in closet with hangers. Then, on the wall next to the door was a bathroom with a shower, sink, and toilet. The room was about the size of a suit. The last thing I noticed was my favorite part of the whole room. It was a large window almost the length of the wall and four feet from the floor. Below the window on the wall was a window seat with probably about sixteen pillows resting on it. I scurried over to the seat and after throwing off all the pillows, except one, I climbed up like a cat on all fours and lied down on my side with my head propped up on my arms and the pillow. I fell asleep that night looking at the bright, shining stars and the Earth below as the lights of the Northern Hemisphere slowly dimmed.


	7. Chapter 7 A Monster on Your Home Front

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 7

A Monster on Your Own Front Door

The air around me had a warm, home-like feel to it and I could smell the musky feel of the area where I had lived before I was taken to the Watch Tower. The Watch Tower only smelled of metal, and chemicals, and had no natural feel to it at all. But, here it was the total opposite. I could smell every little creature that had scurried about in an attempt to find shelter, or food… or home. They would often find shelter in my little home during the rainy days of late October to March when life was hard. I could smell nature, life, the trees, the breeze. Here, I was home. I propped my head up on my palm and looked around. A small gasp escaped my lips as I looked around. I was back home! "I am back home!" I yelled, and ran from my mat on the floor and out of the hovel. The Justice League had returned me back home like I had asked. At that moment I didn't know how they did it, but I didn't care. I was finally home where I belonged. I could live protecting the wild animals of Zimbabwe once again.

The sun was warm and comforting in the early time of the day in the wilderness of my home. I stopped a few feet away from the rustic house and stretched out my arms, feeling the muscle stretch and snap above my shoulder blades. The sun warmed them and it felt good to be outside once again. I had been getting antsy for nature since I had been inside a gigantic metal ship in space for days. Here I had never spent much time inside. Whenever I had been inside it had been when I was sleeping and most of the time when I slept it had been outside under the stars, breathing the cool night air, and feeling the dewing grass under my finger tips. Today was like any other. The air was fresh, the sun was bright, and the dirt was prominent under my shoe-less feet. I took a deep, calming breath and started to run to the cave of the lions to tell them that I had returned. My feet scraped and dirtied as I hit sharp rocks and objects that had been on the ground, but I didn't care. I was happy, I was finally home where I belonged, and the scratches would heal quickly with my super-healing. As I ran I noticed something strange about the area. No one was out, not a single soul. Usually, giraffes were by the tall trees eating leaves, elephants cooling down by the stream, alligators in the water, and monkeys in the trees, but no one was out. Not a single animal or poacher. "Where is everyone?" I questioned myself as I ran. I finally slowed down and neared the cave where the lions were usually, if they were not hunting. I put my hand on the outside of the cave and peered inside.

The inside was dark and musky; I slightly bent down to enter and realized that no one was there. None of the lionesses were there and neither was Leon. As I narrowed my eyes to adjust to the dark I noticed that not a single thing was there that would resemble that an animal had been living there. There were no animal bones, no mice, and no lions. Where was everyone? I took a few steps forward and pointed my nose up into the air to smell. I took three short sniffs and then one long inhale through my mouth. My eyes widened in shock. An animal hadn't lived in this cave for years! "What… Where am I?" I questioned myself hesitantly. I was afraid of the answer that would come moments later. I quickly turned on my bare heel and ran out of the dark, lonely cave.

I squinted when the bright, whitening light hit my blue eyes. The green in them brightened as I tried to see again. I put my scarred hand to my forehead in an ill attempt to keep the sun out of them.

Standing only a few feet in-front of me was a man. But, this was no ordinary man; even though I could only see the back of him, I knew that much. He must have been almost seven feet tall and had dark, scraggly hair that was spread out over his strong, foreboding shoulders. And, then, he turned around. He was wearing a dark suit with a red stripe on the edges of his long sleeves, a jacket and a black shirt that was tucked into his pants. His eyes were dark and had almost an animal looked to them, but they weren't the look that I had in my eyes. His eyes revealed death, and hate, and _**destruction.**_ They didn't have that joy and light that mine did. They only reminded me of darkness, the kind of darkness that would suffocate you in the night, leaving you bare and lifeless, without any chance of hope. But, that wasn't the thing that scared me the most.I gasped in shock and frustration when I saw it. Along the right side of his face were three long scars that started a few inches above his eyebrow and down to the hook of his square jaw. My courage seemed to dwindle as his tall form hovered over mine. He took two steps forward and all the sudden he was right next to me, suffocating me with his proximity. My eyes widened. "Who… who are you?" I stuttered, straightening my back and sticking out my chest in a frail attempt to gain back my valor. Leon had taught me that if you made yourself look bigger, people would feel more intimidated of you. It wasn't working too well for me, but this stranger definitely had the move perfected.

I heard a strange noise come from the man before of me. I realized soon that he was laughing at me and he was laughing at my fear. But, it wasn't the same bell-like sound that had come from M'Gann or the strong youthful laugh that came from Nightwing. But that seemed like years ago now. It was dark and threatening, just like him. "You will learn in good time who I am runt. In good time." The man turned away from me and began to take his leave when I fell out of my reverie and jumped up. I kicked him in the back of the leg, hoping that I would knock him from his feet and question him further. But he didn't move. He didn't much as flinch. In one quick motion he swept his large arm out and struck me across the face. The blow was so painful and strong that it knocked me from my feet and landed me on the hard, dirt floor. A strike of pain started from my lower back and made its way to my neck like a shock of lightning. I had landed on my hip and I screeched out in pain as my back arched forward from the bluster. My face burned and I lifted my hand to try and cool it. Then, I noticed. My mask had flown off when he'd hit me and it now lay broken and smashed on the ground a few feet away from me.

I looked up; the man was watching me twist in pain with a sinister smile spread across his pale lips. This man was no man, no animal, he was a _monster_. A hideous monster who took joy in the pain others faced around him, especially the pain which he caused. I bared my teeth at him in another weak attempt to scare him. Then he laughed again and stuck his large hand out and grabbed me by the front collar of my now dirtied and bloody shirt. I whimpered as he slowly lifted me up to meet his eyes and my feet dangled lifelessly toward the ground feet below me. "You cannot scare me. I am the superior being. I was made to rule, while others like you stood before my feet, wallowing in your own misery. You should beg for me to spare your useless-" His rant was stopped as I spit a mixture of blood and saliva into his darkened face. "You insolent…" His hand that was not holding me up from the ground rose to strike me again, but stopped. "It does not matter. You will see my power soon runt. And then you will beg for your life… asking me to spare your short, measly existence on this Earth. And, in that time, I will kill everything that you ever cared for- ever loved. In-front of your own eyes, you will watch as they die at your own cost. Then, as your scream out for their names and watch the life leave from their eyes… only then, will I finish you." He stopped and looked deep into my eyes with as much hate as I had ever seen before and he clenched his jaw. "Permanently," and then, he dropped me as I landed with a thud to the ground. "Goodbye Delmira," he said over his shoulder, and then he vanished in front of me.

I slowly pulled my legs closer to my chest and sobbed into my knees. No one was there, no one was there to comfort me, or tell me what to do. I was all alone. ALONE, COLD, AND SCARED. With only my thoughts to surround me I buried my face in my hand and sobbed, wishing that this was all a dream…

That this was all just a terrible, terrible dream that I could wake up from. "All just a dream…" I sobbed as I rocked myself back and forth on the dirt ground. I was _wishing it all just to be a dream…_


	8. Chapter 8 Trying to Settle In

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 8

Trying to Settle In

I woke up scared and confused that morning with only the sound of my breathing as a sense of comfort. The streams of light came from the window that I was next to. The night was still dark and untouched. My breathing was uneven and rugged as I pulled my knees up to my chest that was moving so deep and fast that it was starting to make my chest ache. I took ten long breaths and cleared the loose strands of hair away from my face. It had all been a dream. "A terribly realistic dream," I argued with myself and got up from where I had fallen asleep. I had fallen asleep on the small window bed that had been on the farthest wall from the door. The "too-many-sheet bed" had been totally disregarded and only a pillow had been taken. I looked out the window once again. The view had barely changed at all. The only difference was that the northern hemisphere of the Earth that the Watch Tower was facing had lightened and tiny little dots of yellow and white had spotted the continents. There were no clouds, no sunrise, and no fresh morning air. "I want to go home!" I complained to myself, then paused, and took a deep breath. "At least I am safe," I grumbled and looked around the room again.

Laying there on the still untouched bed were a pile of folded clothes and a piece of paper. Someone had come in while I was sleeping and placed them on the bed. I padded over to them and took the note into my hand. I squinted my eyes and held it closer to try to decipher what was on it. From what I saw they were just weird little scribbles. I made a _pfft_ sound and crumbled it up, throwing it back on the bed. I looked back down at the clothes and gathered them to change.

I slid out of the small bathroom and looked at myself in the full length mirror outside. I was wearing a fitting green long sleeve top that had one whole on the end of the sleeves to push my thumbs through. The shirt provided covering of all of my arms and my palms. It was perfect for someone who wanted to cover up the long, red marks that snaked my arms and ran down to cover the whole part of my palms and a few of my fingers. I also wore a pair of blue, stretchable pants. The shirt was a little smug and showed an inch of my stomach, but besides that the clothes fit oddly well. I looked up at the yellow and golden puff ball that was above my head and sighed. The one comb that I owned had been left back at the house in Zimbabwe and I had no way of controlling the ragging monster that was my hair. "It truly looks like a lion's mane," I thought to myself as I patted it down with my hands.

Then, I caught something with my eyes and slowly put down my hands to my sides- as if I was afraid that if I moved too fast it would disappear forever. I leaned forward to get a closer look into the mirror. I gingerly place my right hand on the clean mirror and placed the other on the side of my mask. My eyes furrowed and I bit my bottom lip, feeling the soft, fury fabric beneath my dainty fingers. I felt very tense about the situation. I took a very shaky breath and lightly took the cheetah mask away from my face. I gasped and quickly put the mask firmly on my face again and left the room with a whoosh_._

Peering left and then right I slowly made my way out of the room and down the darkened hallway that seemed deserted and empty. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, relishing in the peace and quiet. It seemed that I hadn't had a serene moment in ages, with all the trouble that had been happening as of now.

I slowly made the way back down to Zimbabwe, back down to Earth, where the land was quiet and peaceful. Back to where I could feel the land below my feet, the sun on my shoulders, and the wind on my face, blowing through my blonde hair as it made its way across the land, to travel somewhere else. Wind was life, and wind was free. It went wherever it desired to, wherever it wanted to go. It did not have to be held back and think of what it would leave behind. It would carry leaves and dust with it as they made their way toward another place in life.

I straightened up and took a deep breath through my nose. My eyes were closed and I stopped my wandering, waiting for the breeze to take me away, away from this dark, metal box where I was being held. I peeped an eye open and let out the breath I was holding. It was still the bland, metal hallway it had been before. Then, as I looked around the bland, deserted hallway, I noticed it wasn't really that bland. Each room had a significant item on the door, like M'Gann had said. I noticed that many had pictures of, what I guessed, were them and their friends. But, others were different. A lot had masks of what looked like villains they'd defeated, some were weapons, and then I stopped at one that had caught my eyes.

I look a step closer to further study it. It was a green arrow with a part of the fletching missing. It looked ratty and worn down and a tiny piece of the shaft was broken as well. Why had someone put a broken arrow as their door marker? I was about to reach out and touch it when a red and yellow blur ran past me and made my mop of hair blow to one side and over my eyes. I frantically threw up my hands to try and keep the hair out of my eyes when I felt something come up right behind me and I turned around to see who it was. A young man was staring up at me intently and he slightly frightened me by his closeness. My eyes returned back from their original shape; I hadn't realized that my eyes had widened. His large, toothy smile was starting to creep me out and I took a step back from him. Something about him seemed familiar.

"Who are you?" I asked critically, trying to make myself seem tough around this strange boy. The kid totally ignored my question and just perked his head to the side, again staring at me with his forest green eyes. "You're cute, babe." My eyes widened in shock. "Did this boy just call me a baby?" I thought to myself as I stared back down at him with a furrowed brow. The young man was a clear four inches shorter than me and had copper brown hair and wore a mask like Flash's but it didn't cover his eyes or hair. The red part of Flash's costume was yellow on the boy and the yellow parts of Flash's costume (the lightning bolts) were red on his costume. I finally made my deduction of who he was, well, sort of. "You are related to Flash. Are you not?" The boy's smile disappeared and he slowly stood straight again, reaching his full height. "Yeah, name's Kid Flash!" He said, pointing a gloved thumb to his face. So, that's why he seemed familiar.

I turned away and continued to walk down the corridor, trying to lose the playful boy. But, in another blur of yellow and red he was back at my side again, like an annoying itch that you couldn't reach and wouldn't go away. After a while of cherished silence the "Kid Flash" spoke again. "So…" Kid Flash extended the 'o' for a couple of seconds, trying to force another conversation with me. "Wow, you can almost feel the awkward in here." I stated under my breath, luckily the Kid Flash did not hear me. "You're that new girl everyone's been talking about?" He questioned and I shot an apprehensive look toward the copper headed boy. "Oh, yes. And what have these people been saying about me, without my permission?" The speedster gave another cheesy grin. "Woah, beautiful. I think that's the most you've ever said to me since I got here." I just gave a stretched smile, wishing the boy would just hurry up and tell me my information and stop flirting with me. "Well, they haven't said much. We don't know much, only that you came from the wild of Zimbabwe, don't know much about people, and have the gift to have animal abilities when you ask for them. Oh, and that Wally has a big thing for you." What? I cleared my throat awkwardly and looked away. There was that name again, was this _Kid Flash_ talking about Fastman? "Smirkey called him the same thing." I mumbled under my breath as I looked away.

"What?" The young man asked and I whipped my head back towards him. "Oh, um, nothing. I was speaking to nothing." The forest eyed boy just made a sound from his throat that sounded like he didn't believe me, but he didn't chastise me further. "Well," the boy looked back at me. "I am not just a mystery, I am also dangerous!" I said as I gave a small growl, gave my signature Cheshire grin, and flashed my green and blue eyes. They now looked very cat-like and I was trying to scare the boy, but he just leaned closer to me. His elbow was awkwardly poking me in the ribcage and I could feel his hot breath on my face. "This boy doesn't know much about personally space. Does he?" I thought as I outstretched my left hand and pushed him away. He just laughed. "Your eyes are really pretty. No wander cuz' thinks so highly of you."

"Again, with the Wally thing? Who is he?" I asked Kid Flash and he looked utterly shocked. He put his hand to his heart in mock heart ache. His eyes widened and I just stared at him until he stopped. "You really don't know, do you?" I nodded a no. "Whelp, guess you'll just have to ask _Flash_." He put emphasis on the word and I could tell he was saying that Flash was this, this _Wally_. But, if everyone was so keen on his secret here, why did he even where the mask? "So babe. What's your name? My name is Bart, Bart Allen, or Kid Flash on missions, or whatever you want to call me, honey."

"Yes, this guy is most definitely a, uh, um…" I thought for a moment and put my pointer and middle finger on my chin. I was trying to think of the right word to describe the boy. "A flirt," I thought in realization and smiled, pointing the finger that was on my chin at him. "You are a flirt!" I almost shouted and leaned towards him. He took a few steps backward before smiling again. He super-sped up next to me again in a flurry of yellow and red and raised his eyebrows up and down suggestively. I cleared my throat again; this boy was _definitely_ a tease. "I think I will just stick to Bart and Kid Flash on missions. My name is… Delmira and I don't know what you should call me on missions. I guess I'll decide that later." I said as I began fumbling with the sleeve ends of my green shirt. "Do you like the clothes?" Bart said, looking down at where the shirt showed the little part of my stomach. I noticed and covered my stomach with my sleeves, glowered at him through my mask. Finally reaching the satisfaction I wanted of Bart to stop looking and look at my eyes I spoke again. "Yes, they are quite comfortable and fit surprisingly well. Whose are they?" I asked out of pure curiosity. And, for the first time ever Bart's smile disappeared. "Artemis'," he said simply and looked down at his feet. He and I stopped and he kicked aimlessly at the carpeted ground.

Oddly enough, the frown on Kid Flash's face made me want to reach out and find out what was wrong. His sadness sent a pang to my heart, like when I saw the other animals sad or hurt. I remember when I was little, about nine or ten years old and hadn't moved out of the cave, it was my job to make sure the lion cubs were okay while the other lionesses went out hunting. It was my job to make sure the little ones were okay. I was about to rest a hand on his shoulder when I thought and stopped. I plastered a fake smile on my face, trying to make it look genuine to make him happy again. "Will I see her today with the others?" _Wrong move_ was what I would later think as I heard Bart's response.

"Um, no Delmira. She's dead, died a few years ago, after the invasion." My smile quickly disappeared and I felt my stomach drop at hearing that. Although I didn't know Artemis, I could tell that she was really loved and missed by her team mates. I also knew the feeling of loss. I had to grow up without my human parents, my birth parents. I had no memory of them whatsoever though, and I could tell that knowing them would make the pain even worse. I had lost a teacher though, Gera, my giraffe teacher, had died about five years ago. "I know what it feels like to lose someone you love," I told him. "One of my teachers, Gera, had died during a poaching, when I was about thirteen. After coming home from the town I realized that…" I paused and took in a trembling breath. "I wasn't there to protect her." My voice was barely above a whisper and my voice sounded scratchy in my throat. Every word that came from my throat was a step closer to me crying. Bart, being the awesome guy he is, noticed the situation had taken a nasty turn and looked up at me. "So, I saw you looking at the doors. Want to see mine?" He asked, calling my attention. I couldn't help but think, based on his earlier rambunctious behavior, that it was another pick-up line.

"It's not a pick-up line." He said and put his hand forward for me to take it. He dropped it soon though when I didn't look at it and continued to walk, as if I knew where his room was. He jogged up to me at a non-super-human manner and was again at my side.

A while later we reached a door that looked, shockingly, like all the others. I gave a light laugh as the thought crossed me and we reached the door. In the upper middle of the door was a small piece of metal in the shape of a lightning bolt. "It looks just like the lightning bolt you and Fastman have on your costumes," I pointed out and looked closer at the metal. I internally winced when he noticed I called his "cuz'" Fastman. "Fastman? That's what their calling him now?" He gave a large laugh and placed his hands on his hips. Obviously the question was rhetorical. I didn't notice though as I stared back at the strange metal. It looked as if it was made of a type of silver metal, but when I looked closer I noticed that it had a slight golden look to it.

I was about to reach out and feel the cool metal on my burned fingertips when Bart whacked my hand away. I looked over to him critically, but he just laughed again. His laugh was different from M'Gann's and… that man from my dream's laugh. Bart's laugh was short and loud, but up-lifting all the same. "Sorry," he said. "But, you don't want to touch that." He paused and pointed a finger back into my masked face. "Unless you want to get shocked, thrown into a portal to the Speed Force, and/or get super-speed," I swatted his hand away in the same manner he had swatted away mine a few seconds before. Of course, when I hit him it had been a little bit more powerful and I could tell by the way he later cradled it as it turned a slight pink color. The ends of my lips twirked up a bit in a smile when I saw that I had hurt him a little. "It serves him right for sticking his dirty fingers in my face," I thought and put my hands on my hips, leaning away from the "metal shocker." I started to wonder why such a powerful piece was just hanging around in the corridor without protection.

"If you wondering why it's just 'hanging around'," Bart began, as if reading my mind. "It can only do that if you have the other piece, which is somewhere with Cousin Flash, so we should be okay. I still wouldn't touch it though; it might give you a shock." He winked at me and began walking on. I followed suit. "So, where is everyone?" Bart looked over to me, like he didn't realize what I was saying. "You know, all of the 'superheroes'."

"Oh, yeah, well their probably in the kitchen, or movie room, or gaming room, or on a mission, or…" I rolled my eyes at his continual listing. He stopped and said, "Most of them are probably already awake. It's nearly two o'clock. I might be fast, but I'm still a late riser." He laughed again, thinking his own joke was funny. I studied him while he stopped his saunter and looked up at me critically. "Why? Missing dear ole Fastman? Hmm?" He said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and making smooch noises with his lips. I caught on to what he was suggesting and was about to reach out and slap him as hard as I could when he moved a few feet away from me like Flash had done the day before. That was when he had tried to inject me with the medicine. Bart just laughed menacingly and sped off, with me right on his heels.

Well, it wasn't for long. Yeah, I was still fast, but I didn't have super-speed like he did. I was only as fast as a cheetah after all. "Fambisa e dindingwe!" **(Speed of the cheetah!)** I shouted and ran after him. I looked down at my speeding legs. I wasn't going fast enough and I was losing sight of him down the hallway. I grunted and pushed forward, wielding my legs to speed up and go faster. A long drip of sweat slithered down the side of my face and I swiped it away with my hand. I was starting to get very tired and my cheetah speed was slowly fading away, my cheetah spots disappearing from my arms and shoulders. I was running out of energy. I pushed the last of the energy by pure adrenaline and was nearing a different room. I was trying to slow down but I couldn't. My energy was leaving and I was getting too tired.

My heels screeched and my arms flailed trying to stop me from falling over, but it was all in vain. The next thing I knew I had landed hard on the ground on my bum. My tail bone hurt and I could tell I had landed on it wrong. I looked up and placed my hands on either side of my body. Almost everyone in the room was looking at me. They were wearing bright colors and capes and masks like everyone else I had seen in the hallway with the adult superheroes. Well, some of them were wearing capes and tights and bright clothing. However, there was this one boy just wearing pair of jeans and a black shirt who didn't seem very interested in my arrival.

The room was huge, and, now that I noticed, it wasn't exactly just one room. It had a carpeted area that had the couch and a large flat screen television and multiple reclining chairs and a coffee table. I recognized that this was where I had been introduced to M'Gann the night before. The other area where I was now was hardwood (to my discomfort) and contained multiple countertops, two sinks, a large fridge, two stoves/ovens, and a microwave. Oh, and had lots of dirty dishes. I guessed this was the kitchen. There was also a dining room and training facility nearby that I had not yet noticed. When I began to get up I looked around at everyone staring at me and suddenly became a little shy. "Um, hi?" I said very quietly as I rubbed pretend dirt away from my pants. "Hi!" A blonde girl said excitedly as she ran towards me. As she helped me up by my elbow I noticed that she was very, very strong. Her arms looked muscular and she was very pretty.

"My name's Cassie, also known as Wonder Girl. And this…" She swept out the arm that wasn't holding me and gestured around the room, her blue eyes glittering with excitement. "-Is the team," with saying that she let go of my arm. I noticed that Kid Flirt was resting comfortably on a stool by the counter eating a banana. I noticed many were giving me warm smiles, trying to welcome me to the team. Some, though, weren't so happy looking. One kid that looked similar to Nightwing was eyeing me from the corner. His masked eyes narrowed when he saw me. I leaned over to Cassie and whispered in her ear, "What is up with the male in the corner?" Cassie looked to me and followed my steady gaze. Her eyes widened so much that her eyelashes touched the edges of her bangs, which were resting on her forehead. She sighed and looked a little angry that I had mentioned him. "That's Robin." My eyes widened a little at the name. He had named himself after an animal? I was about to ask the situation on the one known as Robin when Wonder Girl answered my question.

"He's the third one to take up the Robin mantle, after Nightwing and then Jason Todd. He's a real know it all… and he's my ex-boyfriend," Cassie said this with gritted teeth and when I looked back over at the 'ex-boyfriend' I could tell he had heard our conversation. We stopped by the couch and Cassie flipped over the side and landed with a dull sound. I decided to remain standing. Soon the teen-heroes were around me again, asking me tons of questions that seemed to just flow out of their mouths.

"Where are you from?" "How'd you get your powers?" "What _are_ your powers?" "Do you know Vixen?" "What is your opinion on the deforestation of Zimbabwe?" "Have you ever killed a poacher?" "Are you a vegetarian?" "Where'd you get your mask?" "Are you really Green Arrow's niece?"

"Green Arrow?" I asked and received a ton of sharp nods from the interrogators. That question had caught my attention. Green Arrow was that archer I had met during my last day in Zimbabwe. "I saved his life," I stuttered out unintentionally. Instead of hearing choruses of gasps, I heard utter _silence_. I looked around earnestly, searching for a sign that I hadn't made a big mistake with what I had just said. Then, I caught the eyes of a certain green skinned girl. M'Gann smiled and gave a curt nod of encouragement, waiting for me to continue with my story.

"I, um," I took a big breath to help me continue. I wasn't used to all this attention, especially from people. "It was a really sunny day in Zimbabwe when I woke up that early morning. I took a quick bath in the river nearby and set out with my spear to help the animals. They were acting really out of the ordinary that day…" But before I continued I heard a suppressed chuckle and heard someone whisper, "She bathes in a river?" I furrowed my eyebrows and continued. I was still confused at why they were acting so crazy that day. I explained to the Young Justice what the animals were doing that was so weird and told them how I had to fight my best friends to keep them under control. "Her best friend is an elephant?" I heard a chuckle and whipped my head over to the male, that's when I realized that he was the one that made the comment before about me bathing in a river. Now he was a strange creature. He wasn't just sea green, he also had scales, and red pearled eyes, and gills, and… fins? A deep growl rumbled from the back up my throat and slowly made its way up to my lips before it was interrupted. "Don't pay attention to Lagoon Boy, please, continue with your story."

I slowly looked away from the "Lagoon Boy," and to where the other voice had spoken. It was Robin. His voice wasn't at all what I expected. His voice was steady, and calm, but had a certain strength to it I couldn't quite pinpoint. The way Cassie had explained him he sounded like a jerk. I stole a quick glance at Wonder Girl, but she looked like she was too interested in the back of her hand to notice me, so I continued. "It was starting to get dark and the sun was slowly setting beyond the horizon, so I was heading home. That was when I heard a gigantic roar. Birds flew through the tree's squawking and I could sense that something big was about to happen. I used my cheetah speed to run and check it out. My lion teacher, the one who took me in when I was little, had gone berserk, and he was attacking every animal in sight."

I heard Lagoon Boy interrupt again as he lifted his hand to block his whispering, but I could still plainly see that he was talking about me again. But this time I listened to Robin and didn't pay any attention to the gill-boy. "I quickly took control of the situation and drew his attention towards me. After we battled it out a bit I started to get really tired and felt faint." I paused and added as an afterthought, "I had gone without eating that day... I passed out and got hurt. When I roared it somehow spooked him out of his trance. That's when the poachers came. I commanded Leon to leave and began my plan of attach. That's when your Justice League showed up. I didn't have a clue what they were saying, but the language sounded familiar to me. It was like I had known it before, but that couldn't have been." I gave a short laugh, but the lighthearted gesture ended short when I heard Lagoon Boy say, louder this time, "Ha-ha that's so funny." He looked over to M'Gann, giving a large placid smile which she all but ignored, and I could tell that there was a strained relationship between the two.

"I had been speaking Shona my whole life. But, anyway…" I noticed the teen heroes were starting to get a little bored with my story, well, all except Kid Flash, M'Gann, and a few others, and Robin, who was still staring at me with concentration. "I began fighting the Batman, the Green Arrows, and the one you call, 'Flash.' Even though they didn't start attacking me first I couldn't help but fight them. I felt threatened. It felt as if my animal side was taking over me, like I couldn't control it. I was almost like the other animals that day, I couldn't control my actions. It was like I knew I was doing it, but I couldn't control it." I creased my brows. The more I talked about it the more I realized how weird the situation really was. I heard a yawn from my 'audience' and slowly looked over. It was the same gill boy that had laughed at me being friends with Ellie earlier. "What are you laughing at? Gill boy!" I shouted, my anger was getting the best of me. I was tired of his behavior and his insolence. I was allowing these almost perfect strangers to hear my story, and one of them was laughing at me.

I pushed myself up from the back of the couch where I was reclining. I grabbed a green apple from the kitchen table and ran off to a different area of the unit. Before I totally left I heard someone get slapped and a yelp from Lagoon Boy. "What was that for?" He shouted and I heard the loud voice of Wonder Girl. "You just made one of my new friends upset!"

"Great going, _Gill-boy_," I heard from someone in the living room, but I continued to run down the hallway. I was angry and I wanted to burn out the energy before it came out by me punching someone in the face. That's when I saw a room that made my eyes almost light up. I slowly walked in and looked around the room. The floors were covered in mats and carpeting and had everything you could think of. There was an area of treadmills, ellipticals, and exercise bikes. There were also weights, weight benches, home gyms and other fancy stuff. There were gymnastic beams, bars, rings, uneven bars and a gymnastic trampoline floor. There was also a set of monkey bars and foam pits and a few punching bags. There was even a boxing ring! One side of the room was for super powered teens with special abilities, and the other was for the heroes that didn't have powers like super strength and super speed and flight. That's when I saw what I was looking for and set to work.

While I had been working out, the remaining members of the Young Justice were conversing.

"Well, she's um…" There was an awkward silence of how to finish the sentence Blue Beetle had just started. "Interesting," was the word Batgirl had said as she turned back to look at the holographic computer by the transporters down the hallway. As everyone started to return back to where they were before Superboy said something that kind of shocked the people in the room. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think she's gonna fit into this team well," And with that he left the room to go punch out some cinderblocks for punching bags in the exercise room. That's when Tim (Robin) decided to take his leave and go see where I, The Team's newest arrival, had run off.

Tim made his way down the narrow, red carpeted hallway and into the exercise room where he heard angry grunts and the familiar sound of someone on the gymnastics set of bars and rings. That's where he saw Conner, also known as Superboy beating a very unfortunate piece of concrete to a pulp and his eyes widened a little when they landed on the other person in the room. There I was, doing flips and somersaults in the air above the foam pit about six feet below my feet. I reached out my arm as far as I could and grabbed the nearest ring to prevent myself from falling. I pulled myself up by that one arm and did a flip into the air, tucking my feet and head inwards so that I was in a little ball. To anyone else it looked like I was about to fall into the pit face first, but if you knew me well enough you would know I wasn't going to fall. I whipped out of my position and grabbed the nearest bar. With both hands on the metal bar I lifted myself up past the bar with my toes pointed and my legs straight. My face towards the pit, my strong legs formed a 'v' and went past my arms so that my arms alone were holding my up. After a while when my arms started to feel a little weak and shake I moved my wrists and twisted over the bar in a circle a couple of times before landing on the mat nearby with barely a thud.

"Nice," I looked over to see Robin standing there with a white towel. I had been so focused in my training I hadn't realized someone had entered the room with me. Actually, two people had entered the room without my knowledge. One wasn't paying much attention to me and Robin and seemed to in tune with his cinderblock beating. I said a quick "thanks" and sat down at a wooden bench nearby. I leaned forward and put my elbows on my knees, resting my head in my hands. Robin walked towards me and I noticed that he was about the same age as Cassie, 14, and about five or six years younger than me. He had black hair and a similar mask to Nightwing, except this Robin's hair was much shorter and cut to be a little longer in the top front than the back. Even though I didn't give him permission he sat next to me in a similar position that I was, except his hands were clasped together in-front of him. I straightened up a little and looked over towards him. "Where did you learn moves like that?" He asked me and I looked over towards the jungle of beams and rings I had been on moments before. "I had the best teacher there is," I said simply and Robin continued to look at me unceasingly and without emotion, waiting for me to elaborate. I didn't want the same thing that happened in the living room to happen here, so I continued hesitantly. "One of my teachers was a monkey named, well, Monkey!" I gave a short laugh and I could have sworn that I saw the slightest twitch of Robin's lips.

"What's better than getting lessons on your animal powers than from the animals themselves?" I smiled at his understanding and he offered me the white towel in his gloved hands and I accepted. Dabbing my face with the towel I got up and went over to a stand that had cold water bottles and shyly grabbed one. "You know," I don't know why I was telling him this. "Back in Africa it was not this easy to get food, or water. Whenever I was hungry I had to steal it." I was about to continue when Robin stopped me politely and asked me if I could have just gotten a job for food. "Yes," I answered. "I could get a job, but, there it is so hard to find a job and I wanted someone who didn't have superpowers to get the job. That way when they were not able to steal the food they could get a job to get it, the right way." I unscrewed the water bottle and rested on the wall, taking a small sip. My eyes widened a little and I savored the wet taste in my mouth. The water was cold, and clean. Robin looked up at me as I guzzled down the rest of the water. "So, you gonna tell me the story of how you saved Green Arrow?" The 14 year old questioned and suddenly the sound of concrete breaking under the other male's fists stopped. I looked over and saw that the blue eyed boy had put down his clenched fists and was now looking across the room at me with interest. I smiled and started to tell the two black haired boys my story.

We stopped a couple of times for Robin to get me another apple or a granola bar, but after a couple of hours we both decided to part ways. Superboy, who I had now learned Earth's name was Conner, left to his room and Robin had said he needed to go back to Gotham for 'work.'

As I made my way out of the room I saw M'Gann waiting outside. "How long have you been waiting?" The Martian shrugged her shoulders and floated/followed behind me. "You know you could have come in?" M'Gann shrugged her shoulders again and she was fidgeting so much I could tell a mini earthquake was probably happening somewhere in the world. Her almost crimson eyes were large and sparkled with excitement and enthusiasm. "M'Gann, please, stop fidgeting, you are causing earthquakes all over the world," I gave a light laugh at my joke, but M'Gann still didn't stop. I finally budged and asked her what she was freaking out about. It all came out in a flurry, but somehow I deciphered that she was asking me if I wanted to go shopping with her. "Shopping?" I asked and she nodded. "Yeah, with me, and Cassie, and probably Supergirl- also known as Kara- and maybe Stargirl- also known as Courtney, it'll be loads of fun," She said as she swept her arms out in the air and did a little twirl. "Okay, okay," I said with a small smile as I left and went to my room.

Once I got there and was resting comfortably on my bed a thought occurred to me. How was I going to cover up my face and the burn marks that were over my body? I could always wear similar clothes I wore today, but then there was the problem with my face. I took off my mask and went over to the mirror inside of the bathroom. That's when I realized that what I had thought I had dreamed the other night was not just a dream. A battle was brewing, and I needed to be ready when the time drew closer.


	9. Chapter 9 A Day in the City

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 9

A Day in the City

This morning I woke up to the smell of cooking breakfast and I outstretched my arms until I could feel their muscles stretch to their limit. I dropped them lifelessly on the now unmade bed. The white, silky covers and sheets looked like white wispy clouds. I had decided to sleep on the "too soft" bed last night, realizing that I'd have to sleep on it eventually. It was actually quite comfortable and I had dreamt of flying through the clouds above the land of Africa. The dream was happy and comforting; I had been carefree in that dream. It had been very unlike the dream I had had the night before, and for that I was thankful. The darkened room still looked new and unlived in, but it didn't matter. I didn't intend to stay here long. I got up from the bed and lifted the sheets around my body. After I made my bed I left the room and walked down the hallway towards the smell of cooking food.

That's where I saw M'Gann flipping white disks on a gray skillet to the wall closest to the bedroom hallway. Above the stove was a fan in case the food ever started to burn. She gave me a warm smile when I meandered into the room sleepily. I scratched my head and tried drowsily to match her smile. I walked over to the counter and sat on one of the stools with my shoulders hunched and my back arched forward. Monkey would probably scold me for bad poster, but I didn't care. I was tired and still not used to the drastic change in time and atmosphere. I was about to grab another green apple- my regular meal here, it seemed- from the fruit bowel when M'Gann's voice stopped me.

"So, I see you're up earlier than you were yesterday. That's good since we're going shopping!" She said the last part in an excited voice as she turned around and handed me a plate of steaming, now golden disks that she had been flipping earlier. I looked down at it critically and the green Martian took note to my confusion. She gave a short laugh and my head jerked up towards her. "They're pancakes; they're good, and even better with butter and maple syrup." She gave me a bottle of brown, thick sticky liquid, and placed a small pad of butter in the center of my fluffy golden disks. I turned around in my chair and started to spread the butter with my knife and cut it into bite sized pieces. As I eyed the syrup M'Gann came around the island and sat across from me on the granite counter top. She already began eating, the gooey liquid dripping down from her fork. After she fully chewed the piece she looked at me again.

"Are you not hungry?" I was about to answer when my stomach growled angrily in response, well that answered that question. I could see where it was coming from. I couldn't remember the last time I had a decent meal. "Have you never had maple syrup before?" M'Gann asked and I nodded my head no. I knew what it was, or at least, I had heard of it before. It was something a privileged person could have. I, of course, had never had it. I told M'Gann this and she gave a small smile and quickly grabbed the syrup and drenched my pancakes in the thick liquid. "Now, eat up before they start to get soggy." I nodded and began eating. The pancakes were delicious and warm, with the sweet brown liquid putting my taste buds to bliss. The rest of the meal was spent talking about the history of pancakes and maple syrup. It sounds lame, I know, but it was still probably the best meal I had ever had. As the last piece of gooey pancake was polished off and all the milk in my glass gone, M'Gann got up from her chair and handed me a wet napkin to wipe off the food around my lips.

"So," M'Gann started, "you go get ready and then we can leave with the other girls to go get you some clothes and stuff for your room and have a great girls day out." With that the green Martian floated over the couch a few feet away and grabbed a bundle of clothes and toiletries. She handed me the bundle and was about to leave when I put a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and looked at me. I struggled for my words and looked down at my feet hanging from the stool, not touching the ground. "I, um, we're going into public and people are going to ask questions about my mask." I stopped there, not wanting to continue. I realized that if someone saw regular, unmasked people with someone with a cheetah mask they would think something was up. And I knew seeing civilians with a superhero could endanger their secret identities. M'Gann moved so she could totally look at me. "Why don't you just take off your mask? You can trust us, and if you don't feel comfortable with that you can just wear some dark sunglasses. That's what Batman and his apprentices do." _Smirkey doesn't show others his real face either? _I shook that thought off and looked back at M'Gann; I was feeling sorry for myself. M'Gann had welcomed me with open arms and told me of her past. And what had I done to show that appreciation? I shut her out and didn't tell her anything. I gave a deep breath to steady myself.

"I am not comfortable yet with showing others my face. And though I could just wear sunglasses, it still would not work. There is something, something about my face that will not be covered up with just sunglasses. Please, believe me when I tell you I am of thanks with your hospitality and trust you when faced with the danger of battle. But, I am not yet comfortable with showing others what I am hiding. It was the way I was taught, the way I was raised by my teachers." I think that was the most I had ever said at one time to someone other than Dindingwe and Ellie, and while I was speaking I had felt restlessness. But, that soon left after I finished. It felt as if someone was lifting a ten-thousand pound weight off of my shoulders, now allowing me to breathe somewhat freely. It still was there a little, it had been there ever since I left Africa, but a big portion was gone. I looked up from my feet at M'Gann. At first she looked confused, lost even, but slowly that disappeared. She gave a small nod and the glimmer in her eyes returned again. "I am glad you've shared that with me so I can now have somewhat something to expect if the need comes. I'll go to Zatanna- the one who conjured the spell so you could speak English- and see what she has." She stopped and put a hand around my wrist reassuringly, and with that she turned around and floated down the halls to talk to Zatanna.

I slowly got up from the stool and excited the kitchen to go down the hallway to the rooms. That was when I started to hear crashing noises coming from a door ahead of me. I ran down the hallway to the increasing sound. I banged on the door as loud as I could, but the thumping and crashing didn't stop. "Who is in there?" I shouted and pressed my ear to the door. I heard behind it a man's voice yelling about something. When I heard M'Gann's name I decided to take action. "Husimba e nzou!" **Strength of the elephant!** With that I kicked the door down with my foot and walked in. That's when I saw a dark haired boy wearing a black t-shirt standing a few feet away with his feet shoulder width apart and his fists clenched. I could tell he was angry, so when he whipped his head towards me with a clenched jaw, I decided to tread lightly. I put my hands up to show him I held no weapon, of course, right now, I really wished I had my spear with me to protect myself. My elephant strength soon departed and I felt my muscles grow weaker and smaller. I took a small step towards him slowly like he was a frightened animal, and when an animal was threatened it was always better to be careful. When an animal was angry or scared it could do anything unexpected, and it could pounce on any given moment. "So, you're the new girl everyone's been talking about," he said and I lifted one of my eyebrows at him. _What's with everyone talking about me?_ I questioned myself and looked back at the male. "Oh yeah, and who are you?" I questioned him and looked into his eyes. They were blue, and I could tell he had calmed down from before. He gave the same look I had given him moments before and then spoke.

"My name's Conner- Superboy. Didn't you know? There was a sign on the door." He caught more of my attention when he said that. I hadn't been able to read the note M'Gann had given me with my clothes either. Living in the wilderness hadn't given me the privilege of being able to go to school. Superboy noticed my hesitation and continued with, "And you are?" I told him my name and he stuck his hand out for me to shake. After we exchanged hellos I asked him why he had been upset. He gave an exasperated breath. "La'gann was just really annoying me about M'Gann is all," he said, shrugging it off dismissively. I looked down and saw him give a small smile. "You must know the feeling?" He asked and I nodded with a small laugh. La'gann had been the one who had set me off the other day and caused me to vent my anger in the gym. That's when I had remembered that Conner had been the one beating a cement stone to rubble in the exercise room. Conner bent down and started to pick up the broken items he had thrown. I took that as my leave and stepped over the broken down door. I said I was sorry for breaking down the door to his room and waved my hand goodbye behind me.

I finally made it to my room and punched the code to get in. I walked in and after the door swooshed closed I walked toward the bathroom. My feet stopped as they reached the end of the carpet to the door of the bathroom. The bathroom was really clean compared to the few ones I had been in before and there was not a single dirty spot in the whole room. The bathroom, including the tile floor, was porcelain and the counter was marble with a steal faucet. I hesitantly stepped into the bathroom, one foot after the other and the white light came on automatically. The floor was cold onto my bare feet and sent a small shiver down the back of my spine and to my fingertips. The bathroom was **really** nice and I wondered how much it had cost to get a bathroom this classy. Just this bathroom itself cost more than the little shack where I lived in Zimbabwe and it was almost the size of it too. I shook my head and placed my bundle of clothes on the countertop and turned around to look at the bathtub. Just like the rest of the bathroom it was perfectly clean. There wasn't one spot of dirt, or grime, or anything in the white tub. In fact, it was so white that it hurt my eyes to stare at it for a while in the fluorescent light.

I bent down and put my hand on the knob of the bathtub that was at the end. I hadn't really used a bathtub before to shower, so I was trying to figure it out. Really, I could have just asked M'Gann, but I was stubborn. I didn't want help from anyone, especially in trying to figure something as futile as turning on the bathtub. I pushed up slightly on the round knob and a little trickle of water came out. I smiled to myself in a small victory and turned it more so that the water was warmer and more water came out. That's when I noticed a small lever on the top of the spout. I looked at it for a closer look and slowly pulled it up. The water then stopped and I started to think that I had somehow broken it. Then I heard a screech of water and I looked up. The warm water started to pore down from it and I let off a scream as the water started to soak me. During the frantic attack of water I slipped and ended up on my back in the bathtub totally soaked to the bone in my borrowed clothes.

After much slipping and sliding I managed to get out of the bathtub and back on my feet on the tile floor. I shook my body like a cat so that most of the water would come off. If there was one thing about me it was that I HATED involuntarily getting wet, and I hated the feeling of wet clothes clinging to my body. It was like a gigantic leech was sucking on my body. Yeah, it sounds gross, now you know how I feel. Anyway, I peeled off the wet clothes, wrenched as much water out of them as I could and placed them on the towel rack. I grabbed the bar of soap and shampoo M'Gann had given me and stepped into the shower.

The shower was fantastic and the water was the perfect temperature. I hadn't had the privilege of having a shower at home and this felt great. Before I had had to use murky water from the little stream by my house and a pitcher to clean, but this was totally the opposite. The warm shower loosened my stiff muscles and made me feel the most relaxed since I got here. The water was clean and warm and I could tell I needed that as a load of dirt and grime made its way down the drain. I must have looked filthy when Fastman, the Batman, and the Green Arrows had met me. Remembering that encounter reminded me of the small scar I had gotten after taking a bullet for the stranger known as "Green Arrow." I gingerly put a hand on the exposed scar that ran down my stomach and I looked at it. It was a fiery red and you could still see the little stitches in my skin where I had been sewed up. The doctor had said that even for my super healing there would always be a small mark where they had had to remove the bullet. Apparently to J'ohnn I should have died from the attack. I had lost a lot of blood, had a concussion and heat exhaustion, and the bullet had even ripped through an organ. But, here I was, and for that I was grateful.

I heard a small knock at the door, grabbed a towel, and stepped out of the steaming shower. When I looked back I noticed the white bathtub wasn't so white now, but more of a brown. I gave a small laugh, put on my jeans and red long sleeve shirt and went to the door while brushing the tangles out of my hair. There M'Gann was, standing with her ever bright smile on her green face and something little in her hand. "Hello, M'Gann," I said as I moved to the side and let M'Gann into my room. The Martian walked in and looked around my room curiously. She stared up at the ceiling and then at the walls, the bed, and the surrounding rooms of the hallway. Then, she looked into the bathroom where the floor was soaked with muddy water and wet clothes and her face dropped a little. She took a step into the bathroom. The weight of her feet made a little splash of water form on the floor. "What happened to the bathroom?" M'Gann asked and I hopped she wasn't too upset with me. "I hadn't used a shower before and when the water came on at the top it scared me and I slipped," I said flatly and she laughed and just turned back around to look at the rest of my room. I followed behind her and after a while finally asked her what she was doing.

M'Gann smiled, "I'm looking at your room, so that we know what kind of decorations to get. I was thinking maybe some paper lanterns in the corner, along with a poster or two and some new bed sheets." She gestured to the snow white sheets and gave a pitiful look. As she plopped down on the bed and continued to look around the room I noticed that she was holding something small in her green hands. I walked over to her by the bed and sat down. As I looked closer to it I noticed that it was a small choker necklace. I pointed to it and M'Gann smiled, "It's from Zatanna. It's a glamour charm; it changes your appearance so that no one will recognize you." M'Gann said and placed the glamour charm in my open hand that was resting on my knee. As the cold metal went onto my palm I finally took in the intricate detail of the necklace. Zatanna really made it fit to my personality, the pendant was of a brass cheetah head with engravings in the metal to look like spots for the coat. I got up and walked to the bathroom. I hooked the necklace around my neck and looked into the mirror. My hair slowly turned darker and darker until it was totally brown. My skin tone changed to, it was now a few shades lighter into a pale peach color. The thing I noticed that didn't change were my eyes, they still had that blue color with the sparks of neon green in the middle and around the edges. When I moved the charm around a little my appearance briefly faded into its natural look and then back again. I untied my mask from the back and took it off. My face was totally different! The things that Dindingwe told me to hide- so that no one could take advantage of me- the things that my teachers told me to leave hidden so that no one would know, were gone. They were all gone! _This is wonderful, M'Gann!_ I shouted in my brain and I heard M'Gann's footsteps become louder and louder as she came up behind me. "I'm glad you like it, but you have to remember not to wear it too much, or you'll forget who you are and lose yourself," the Martian woman said, suddenly serious and I gave her an incredulous look. "The same thing happened to my friend," She said simply and walked out of the room to the sliding door to my room and the hallway. I grabbed my things and followed after her.

We slowly made our way down the hallways to the teleporter area where there were hologram computers and a large window to show the stars and space, like the place Smirkey had taken me a couple of days ago. That's where I saw three other girls with blonde hair in the middle of the room. One, I recognized as Cassie, or Wonder Girl as other people call her as. M'Gann and I walked over to them and I tried to give the warmest smile I could muster and turned to Cassie. "Girls, this is Delmira," she said, gesturing her arm towards me and then back to, 'the girls.' "Delmira, this is Kara, also known as Supergirl," Kara's hair was a light blonde and she had crystal blue eyes. Her attire consisted of light blue jeggings with a white t-shirt and red hoodie. She waved at me and gave a bright smile, which I returned. The other girl M'Gann mentioned was similar to Kara, but I could tell had more of an edge to her. Her hair was dirty blonde and parted down the middle. She wore a navy blouse and dark colored shorts. Her name was Courtney, or Stargirl, as The League came to call her.

The girls grabbed their bags and turned around and headed to some large machines and a platform that had glowing circles that formed around the edges, they didn't seem hesitant to get near them, but I was. "What are these?" I asked turning to M'Gann. Before she could respond to me one of the other girls answered her. "They're transporter machines so we can go down to Earth wherever we need to without having to take a big bulky spaceship. It's a lot more convenient, all we have to do is have one on the other end where we want to go and it's all set up." I looked over past M'Gann and noticed that it was Kara who had spoken. She smiled at me and stuck one of her hands in her pockets. "Of course for me I could just fly out back home to Earth, but I guess some people like having their brains scrambled just to get to Metropolis." My eyes widened. _Brain scrambling? I don't want my brain scrambled; I don't even like scrambled eggs. _I thought to myself and forgot that I was talking to M'Gann when I thought that, so she probably telepathically heard me. They continued to walk closer to the big metal contraptions and mysteriously glowing platform but I didn't budge. I didn't want scrambled brains. Cassie ran back to me and pulled me by the arm, telling me to stop being a baby, and that it actually wasn't that bad to be transported. But as she pulled me closer to the beeping machines I didn't feel so hot about the idea. I dug my heels into the ground and refused to move a step further.

After a couple of minutes of kind coaxing, Courtney decided to take a different approach. "Come on," she said. "Stop being a scared-e cat and get on the stupid platform, I thought-by the way everyone was talking- that you were a brave girl with a cheetah mask. I mean, you sounded like a goddess with the way Flash was talking about you." I noticed Cassie fidgeted a little when Courtney said the word goddess. "Besides, it doesn't actually scatter you brain cells, Kara's just saying it to have an excuse to complain about something." M'Gann put in and Cassie nodded. "How do you think the Justice League got to Zimbabwe and brought you back after you got hurt?" My eyes widened, but eventually they convinced me of stepping on to the platform and being transported with them to get new clothes. "Mr. Terrific?" Courtney asked, turning to a black man with a gray't' painted on his face. The man turned his head and smiled at her. "To Central City," she said and the circles on the floor beamed and with a shower of light we were off to Central City.

Once the light had faded away I noticed how different this city was to the place I had called a city in Zimbabwe. Compared to this place that city was a mere town, a village at most. I tilted my head up and looked around at the large, concrete buildings that looked like they would reach the tip of the sky and never stop. The buildings that looked like they could house thousands of people, which seemed almost empty in the early day's light. We were in an alley, so I couldn't see very much of this new city. I blindly walked out of the alleyway, with my head tilted high, still trying to soak in all of my surroundings. It was so different, just being plopped into an environment like that. I had only had the chance to imagine things as big as this in my life. As I stepped out of the dirty passage I was finally able to see everything. The buildings were huge, that's true. But the street seemed even more spectacular. It wasn't a dirt street that I was used to, or a gravel street, or even a nice concrete street. No, it was made of the most expensive material you could think of; it was a black-top street. As I stepped further out I heard M'Gann and the other girls run towards me. "Delmira, don't just walk out like that. You're new to the city. We have to be extra careful so you don't get separated from us and get lost."

I looked away from the road and back to M'Gann and noticed that her skin had changed from a green to a peach color and she was now wearing civilian clothes. Now she was just plain old Megan, the girl from Earth. I could understand why she would do that, green skin kind of stuck out like a sore thumb. The question was how she managed to change her skin tone. I looked over to see Cassie off to the side of us, her arms crossed, and a bright smile on her face. She had told me earlier that she hadn't been out of the Tower a lot unless it was on a mission. Her mentor, Wonder Woman, hadn't let her, something about Amazon code and not having enough time to go out for fun or something like that. Cassie wasn't wearing her Amazon uniform anymore, which consisted of a black sleeveless, fit shirt with a gold 'W' on the chest and red tights. She still wore a sleeveless shirt, which complemented her muscled arms and torso. I then turned my attention to a girl with a dark brown ponytail and large circular glasses. Kara was gone! I looked to the girl tensely and she looked at me strangely before realization hit her.

She smiled, "It's Kara, Delmira," she said and pulled up her brown wig to reveal her light blonde locks underneath. When I saw Kara's crystal blue eyes hidden behind those wire rimmed glasses I nodded and put down my guard once again. It made sense that Kara would wear a disguise in her daily life since she didn't wear a mask when she was fighting. Cassie didn't have to wear a disguise since she was an Amazon and didn't have a civilian life to keep hidden. I turned to the others and followed them as we headed down the street towards the mall. Megan was about to turn when she noticed my hesitation. "Can you hold my mask?" I said and she looked down at my hand, which was still clutching the precious cheetah mask. "Sure," she said as I handed her my mask. She delicately placed it in her over the shoulder bag and we headed down the street.

"So, you don't mind carrying my mask?" I asked her as we finally reached the other girls down the street. "Not at all," she said as a small smile was placed on her lips. "It's understandable that you want to keep it with you. In case we might need it if the time comes." She didn't exactly elaborate on that, but I knew what she was saying. We had to be careful after all. We were superheroes and superheroes had to be careful about what they talked about in a common place like this. I was learning that every day since I joined The League.

The mall was even more amazing on the inside than it did on the outside. It looked pure white with the white tile floors and the white ceilings and the white walls. But, it wasn't that creepy bleach white that the medical bay rooms were in The Watchtower. The mall was filled with people, people who didn't even bother to give us a second glance. Why would they? After all, we were just regular citizens to them, they were too caught up in their own worlds to notice regular people like us. I looked for Megan for confirmation that my charm was still working and she gave a nod that was almost concealed by the others. But, Kara noticed of course. From what I had gathered from Cassie and Megan about Kara she was the cousin of Superman, one of the main founding leaders of the Justice League. Kara could also fly, I remember, from her comment about the teleporters earlier. Kara was also very perceptible. I noticed from the way her clear blue eyes had unseeingly been taking in the condition of our surroundings. Each and every movement I made she noticed, and so did Courtney, I knew Kara was trying to be nice about it, but Courtney wasn't so shy in letting me know that I wasn't completely trusted yet.

But, I could totally understand this. I was new after all, and I was only here for information. However light hearted Flash had tried to make it, the comment he had made on my first day after being taken had still taken root in my heart. I remember his exact words, "It's nothing personal really. We just need you to get some information on why our friend's family went missing." So that's the only reason I was here? To get information for them, and then what? Once they were done with me they'd just drop me back off in the wilderness to fend for myself. "It doesn't matter," I thought. "I'm better off alone, just the way I like it." We slowly made our way to one of the little shops and quickly made a bee-line for the clothes. I looked around while Cassie, Kara, and Courtney dived right into the clothes pile, Megan deciding to stay behind and make sure I didn't wander off again like before.

After about two hours of heavy shopping and trying on clothes I was ready to go back into the Watchtower for some rest and relaxing. I couldn't remember the last time that I had been so tired. I had probably tried on fifty shirts, twenty pairs of pants, and ten pairs of shoes. And after all that a lot of the clothes had to be put back. But it wasn't because the clothes were expensive; Kara and Courtney had assured me that a Justice League salary gave you a lot of spending room. No, the problem was that a lot of the clothes showed too much skin. They weren't skimpy or anything, but I had to be careful with the clothes I wore. That way people couldn't see my burns. It got a little close when Kara asked why I had declined all of the dresses they had picked out for me. My mind went blank, not a single thought was in my mind. "Why can't you wear the dresses Delmira, huh? Delmira, why can't you wear the dresses?" My mind kept searching for an answer that never came. How was I supposed to answer that? With that question and my silence Courtney and Kara started to get really curious. Luckily M'Gann came to my rescue. "It's just getting cold and Delmira doesn't want to get warm clothes when she'll just have to get a whole new wardrobe soon."

It wasn't a sufficient answer, but it had gotten the girls to be quiet. I knew, of course, that they saw a problem with that. I had found out that it was only September and would take a few more months for it to get cold in this part of the U.S. After we had left the shop we made our way down the street to a restaurant that was nearby. I was starving after all the work. And my stomach was just grumbling for some food, and this time I wouldn't have to steal the food.

The five of us turned a corner and headed into a local restaurant. It was a small little café with tables and booths with green, plastic seat cushions and a counter that was a head of a little kitchen in the back. I was carrying a lot of shopping bags with me and could finally feel their handles dig into my arms and cut off the circulation. I wasn't going to complain though; instead I waited until Courtney got us a booth by the window and they sat down. I paused until they were seated and placed the bags in another booth nearby. "Aren't you worried that someone will need the table?" I ask to no one in particular as I slide in next to Cassie and the waitress put a menu in front of me and walked off. "Nah," Courtney said as she picked up her plastic menu. "No one's here, their all in school or work. We are taking a late lunch break." I looked around and saw everyone else nod and pick up their menus. I looked down at my menu and drew a delicate circle on it with my finger. I wasn't about to pick it up and let everyone know as I blankly stared at that I couldn't read. Of course, the ever observant Supergirl had already taken notice. "Why aren't you looking at the menu? I know you're hungry, I can hear your stomach growling from over here." She said, placing her menu back on the cold table. "Oh lion's roar," I thought. "She has super hearing too." I looked away from Kara and back at the table. "I can't read," I mumbled and notice Kara's shocked face. "What?" She asked with an exasperated look, but I didn't repeat myself. I knew she heard me, since she had that super hearing and all.

"Did you say you couldn't read?" Courtney asked as she put down her menu as well. I looked over to Megan and Cassie and they put down their menus also. Everyone's attention was now on me, except for the waitress who had disappeared to the back of the café. "I was never taught how to read," I said. "It is not that big of a shocker, a lot of people in the poorer part of the world cannot read. It is something not easily taught, one especially being me, considering I grew up in the wilderness without any parents." It was strange seeing their faces so shocked, even though I knew that they had heard this before. Apparently to them the whole League had heard about me and my abilities, all thanks to Flash. I think the main reason they were shocked is because I had just shared that much information openly with them. A large and awkward pause ensued for a while until the waitress returned with our drink orders. Courtney ordered a Coke, Megan and Cassie sweet tea, and Kara ordered pink lemonade. The waitress turned to me, impatiently waiting for my order, her pad of paper and pen held up toward her, poised to write down the next order. "Water," I said simply and the waitress nodded and left, her messy bun bobbing back and forth towards the kitchen. I would have ordered something else, but the water was so good here and I didn't know what the other drinks were.

"We can help you find something to eat if you want us to." Courtney said, offering me help for the first time since I've met her. I told her that would be great and she gave off a list of options I might like. "What's a burger?" I asked, interrupting her list and she looked over towards me. "You've never had a burger before?" Cassie asked and Courtney turned to me and I nodded a no. "It's meat, cow." M'Gann said before anyone else could reply. With knowing that I shook my head politely at that suggestion for a meal, "I don't eat meat." I said and Courtney nodded. The waitress returned with our drinks and bread and I ended up getting a salad and side of oranges. The meal was fantastic and I enjoyed it a lot more than I did the shopping.

By the end of the meal I was reclining in my seat and smiling happily down at my empty bowl. "I cannot remember the last time I had such a great meal, the last time my stomach was completely full." My stomach was even starting to hurt from the large portion, and it wasn't use to such an extravagant meal. M'Gann smiled at me and nodded. "It's nice to get out and eat every once and a while." M'Gann paid for the meal and we headed back out to go back to the Watchtower. It was a little sad that we had to return after such a nice day.

But, the day wasn't over for me yet.

66


	10. Chapter 10 First Mission

Ch.10

First Mission

As we neared the alley where we had been transported to the city, my trained ears started to pick out the distant sound of screeching tires down the road. I stopped mid-stride to look around my shoulder when I noticed the sound was abruptly getting louder. There, down the black paved road, was a speeding truck heading towards me. Cars were swerving and hitting street poles, fire hydrants, and other cars in an ill-attempt to avoid the vehicle. I reared my head back from the sight of the truck when I heard a shrill scream.

There in the middle of the road was a small, orange cat. The car had almost reached us and was about to hit the poor animal. I made a quick decision and ran towards the kitten, despite hearing protests from the other girls to stop and come back. They were saying that the truck was going to hit me and I was going to get squashed. They didn't see the poor creature in the middle of the path of the car. My shoed feet started to hit the pavement hard and quick as I got closer and closer to the cat, which was now lying down on the road with his ears flattened, and its belly to the pavement. Despite the cat assembling his courage to face the giant metal beast, I could tell how scared it was. His tail tucked in between his back legs. Once I reached it I scooped it up in both hands and held him close to my beating chest, but I should have kept running once I grabbed him. Now the truck was only yards away from me, at full speed, ready to squash the both of us and I was frozen in my spot with the cat clenched firmly to my chest.

When I was starting to believe my fate would be death by kitten and truck, a red flurry of wind over took me and the kitten, scooping us up into the air and suddenly I was ten feet away safely on the sidewalk. My eyes were fuzzy for a bit with the abrupt change of scenery before focusing out; I said a quick thank you and wiped the dirt off of my newly purchased jeans. I looked forward and saw Flash standing a near foot away from me with his hands on his hips and a boyish grin on his face. Shock was still evidence on my face that I had almost been run over by a semi-truck and then rescued at the last minute. This all happened because I wanted to save the cat. "You okay ma'am?" My rescuer asked, in a voice a little bit different from how I usually heard Flash speak. This voice has a little more stoic and had that little bit of authority in his voice that just shouted, "Hey! I'm a superhero!"

Not forgetting his question I answered with a nod of my head and remained quiet, still a little shaken up about almost being run over. "Right," he said shortly before he perked his head to the side and looked more intently at me. "What?" I asked and he smiled quizzically. "Do I know you?" He said as he took a closer look at my eyes. I stammered before jerking my head. I had forgotten I had been wearing the Glamour Charm and looked nothing like my normal self. That's when realized why he had called me ma'am earlier and I smiled, realizing how effective the necklace really was. As Fastman was about to turn around and leave I remembered the animal which had caused all this trouble in the first place.

"Where has that kitten gone now?" I asked myself as I placed my hands on my hips and looked around. I finally noticed where the orange kitten had ended up in his journey. There the animal was, clenching to the back of the Fastman's suit with his claws dug in for dear life. I let out a light laugh before taking a step towards Flash. He turned around and smiled at me, I guess he assumed I wanted to thank him again, considering the smug look he had on his face. I scoffed before slowly reaching out my hand and smoothing down the hair on the head of the kitten, trying to get it to release his hold on the speedster. It reluctantly let go and I smiled down at the orange tabby before looking back at him. "Cat got your back?" I said, laughing at my own joke before looking back down at the kitten in my arms. I slowly outstretched my hand and soothingly smoothed the top of his head before his heart returned back to its normal pace. Flash looked at me again with an earnest gaze to try to piece together why I seemed so familiar. But soon you could hear a car screech in the distance and Fastman was jerked out of his thoughts. He still needed to stop the speeding truck that had almost made me and this kitten a permanent addition to the road. With a sweep of his hand and a, "gotta flash," the speedster was already half way down the road after the truck, leaving me behind with the animal.

As I watched Flash leave I heard the loud pounding of two pairs of feet hitting the pavement behind me. I turned around to see a little girl, about the age of eight, and her mother heading towards me with worried but grateful faces when seeing that their kitten was okay. The girl ran slightly ahead of her mother to me and gave me a smile before taking the kitten from my hands. "Thank you for rescuing Doodles!" She cheered before looking up at her mother. I couldn't help to notice how similar they looked in appearances. Both had curly brown hair and green eyes, only differing from the lighter color of the mom's hair, which came with the price of age. I couldn't help but wonder if my own mother and I resembled each other in not only appearances, but character as well.

Soon after the mother and daughter left, Megan, Kara, Courtney, and Cassie came dashing towards me with exasperated looks and slight fear in almost losing someone that had been put in their responsibility to take care of. "That was a close call." Megan was the first to reach me, throwing her arms around my neck. She had to slightly stand on the tips of her toes to hug my tall frame and she ran so fast at me I almost lost my balance and butt-planted right on the sidewalk. Thankfully, Kara was already holding my arms, preventing me from falling. After Megan took a step back from me to speak, everything came out in a blur. She told me to never do that again or she'd most likely have a heart attack and that Batman would have her head if I got hurt. Then, Megan began to apologize for not saving me from the street. I put up my hand to silence the Martian's babbling. "Megan, I totally understand," I said as I put my raised hand on her shoulder. "You could not run out and save me because it would blow your cover. Besides, I am completely alright, Fastman made sure of that." The other girls started to exchange glances and began laughing. I put my hands on my hips and scowled. "What?"

Courtney tried to stifle a laugh and it ended up coming out in a little snicker, "You already have a pet name for him?" Megan and Kara put a hand to their mouths and looked over to me, their faces slowly turning red from lack of oxygen. I just shook my head, picked up the shopping bags and slowly began to make my way back to the phone stand where we had been transported to the city. Megan, Courtney, Cassie, and Kara grabbed the rest of the shopping bags, and then quickly followed behind me. Why was everyone just assuming that Flash and I were together? Was it because I had a "pet name" for him? Because that hardly seemed like a reason to me; our relationship was purely friendship. Or, at least, it was for me, Fastman on the other hand I had no idea of.

As we reached the telephone stand in the alley I looked back over to the street where the Flash had saved me. I looked at Megan over my shoulder, then back at the street in front of me. Kara and Courtney had already put the shopping bags in the telephone stand and Cassie was ready to leave and go back to the Watchtower. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked over to the Martian in disguise pleadingly. I wanted to go and help Fastman take care with whatever he was chasing after. _That's what heroes are for, right, to help in any way they can? I mean, that's what I've heard from Flash_. I thought to myself and looked down at the concrete sidewalk. That's when I heard Megan sigh and speak to me through her mind link. _Go ahead and run after him, I'm sure he'll appreciate the extra hand, __**especially**__ from you. _I heard her snicker in my head and couldn't help a small blush graze across my cheekbones.

_What about Batman? _I asked. _Aren't I supposed to be under the watch of a Justice League member at all times?_ I thought, the blush from my face quickly receding as I turned to my old stubborn self. Whether he hadn't intended it, the Fastman made it clear that I was almost a prisoner under the League's watchful eye. "You'll be meeting Flash along the way," Megan said, finally speaking out of the mind link she set between us. "If you stray away we'll know and don't think we won't be hesitant to tell the League we lost you." The threat didn't sink in considering the mischievous look the Martian had on her face. I nodded and Megan gave me the bag with my mask. After I changed into a different top so that Flash couldn't recognize me and put on my mask, I safely tucked the Glamour charm necklace back into the bag and gave it to Megan. Goodbyes said she left and I sped off into the direction that Flash had run after the truck, following the trail of downed lamp posts and wrecked cars.

After hitch-hiking a car or two and cheetah speeding almost all the way there, I made it to a bridge where Fastman had apparently sped off to, along with the speeding truck. The bridge was now almost deserted. People had scrambled away from the cars hastily, so their vehicles were now strewn across the road, with wire cables from the bridge broken and torn. I looked down, careful not to step on broken pieces of the road that were torn apart and items that had been dropped from people who were running away. As the rubble began to diminish and I got closer to my target my speed grew, turning my saunter into a speedy run. Running passed for a couple of minutes until my acute senses picked up a change in the residence of the air. My head jerked up to see a man flying far above my head towards where I was running. I would say that I was surprised, but I wasn't. After all the things that had happened in these past weeks, I wouldn't be surprised if a gorilla was driving down the street. I began to follow the flying green man, conducting that wherever he was heading, Flash was there.

I eventually made my way to the scene. The truck which had caused all the trouble was by a large hole in the bridge, most likely where the truck had rammed into it. The back of the truck's doors were open, with Fastman and three other men next to him. The tallest one, I recognized, was the man that had been floating in the air. The two others were an older Asian man and a man with gray hair. As I neared them I saw Flash pick up the two men off the ground. I was impressed that Flash was able to pick up each of the men's weight with one hand. "No wonder these guys were in such a hurry." Flash said and the Asian man woke up, shook his head, and moaned. He picked up one of his hands that was hanging by his side and pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. His glasses slightly moved and the man looked dazedly towards Fastman. "Where am I?"

"You hijacked a bus and ran it over a bridge. Any of this ringing a bell?" The Asian's eyes widened and he looked back at Flash, obviously not remembering any of what had happened. At the man's response the speedster put the two men on the ground, in-front of the new superhero. I made my way closer and closer to the group, now only a few feet away from the mystery hero and took in his features. He was similar in height to Flash, but that was about the only similarity. This man was of African American descent, with a military haircut and a broad chest. He wore a tight full body suit, similar to Fastman's. The suit was black, with the material of the boots; cuffs for the arms, and the top length of his shoulders were green. With his back facing away from me, that's all I was able to notice.

He pulled his folded arms away from his chest and stretched out an arm. "Let's see some ID," two green rows of strange energy came from his fist to dig into the men's jacket pockets and reach out two bill folds. The man put the bills closer to his face and read out the names of the men, both working at the River Blood Research center, apparently where the radioactive isotopes were stolen. I took a few steps towards the men again, now officially in their conversation. Fastman stole a fleeting look at me and his super hero demeanor soon diminished, the warm smile I was familiar with now reaching his features. "And I feel guilty when I take paper clips from the Watchtower." He said, almost directly towards me and crossed his arms. I gave a small smile in return and the other hero saw this. He looked towards Fastman and then to me and shook his head. "Let's see if we can get to the bottom of this."

You can't imagine how strange it is to ride in a floating green ball of translucent energy. The material felt like jelly when you stood on it, but was somehow strong enough that you didn't sink right through the bottom. The superhero that I'd met for the first time today stood ahead of us, his brows pulled together in intense concentration. I was surprised at how easily he'd allowed me to come along with him, and I had a good guess at why. Flash was staring intently at me, his muscular arms folded neatly over his chest, and mirth in his eyes. "What?" I asked him as I finally noticed his steady gaze. Fastman just shook his head and smiled even more.

"Excited to go on your first mission?" He asked, avoiding my question as he usually did when it came to these kinds of things. I scoffed and looked down to play with the draw strings of my loose cotton shirt.

"You seem to forget that I've been doing this 'superhero thing' for a while now." I looked up and saw Flash frown, something that I rarely saw appear on his face. His stance became loose and he unfolded his arms as a look of petulance reached his eyes. He walked briskly towards me and I started to get the inkling feeling that he was about to say something really mean, or really stupid. I couldn't discern which one. There were only a few feet between us in the bubble before he reached me and put his elbow on my shoulder. My eyebrows moved in a questioning position. Just like Kid Flash, Flash didn't have much of an idea for personal space.

"Yes, and you seem to forget that this is your first mission with yours truly." He said cheekily. I rolled my eyes and lightly pulled his arm off me before then placing my palms on his chest and pushing the speedster away. As he purposely stumbled and tried to regain his balance dramatically, the other hero walked towards us with a placid expression. He looked over towards me before looking back at Flash, a scowl replacing his peaceful expression.

"Flash, I have enough will power to keep this bubble afloat for hours, but I don't have enough patience to keep you on this bubbleif you keep acting like this. Got it?" He said sternly and to the point. I smiled when I looked over to Fastman and saw his staggered face. "I like this guy", I thought. Now that he was near me I noticed that his eyes were the same color as the glowing energy around us and lacked the black pupil that all eyes contained. Never in all of my life had I seen eyes so bright and green, especially on someone of African American decent. That's when I decided that his eyes weren't their natural color, but somehow applicable to his power. After giving Flash a good solid scowl he turned his head and locked eyes with me.

"So you must be Delmira," His voice was a deep baritone and steady. I nodded my head and gave a smile to the man, happy that someone bothered to actually address me by my first name when they met me. It seems Flash had mentioned me all around the Watchtower, but had failed to mention my name. At that point I started to notice that it'd been a while since Fastman had said anything, probably due to the reprimand the green eyed man had given him earlier. As if on cue, Flash spoke up once more, making sure the attention wasn't taken off of him for too long.

"Finally, someone who's stopped addressing her as, 'that girl everyone's been talking about,'" The new hero and I jerked our heads towards him simultaneously; earning Flash to snap his jaw shut and give an awkward shrug. I looked back at the green hero and gave him a polite smile.

"It's nice to meet you—"

"Green Lantern," He said his title proudly, and extended a hand towards me. I looked at him inquiringly and then down at his outstretched hand. His middle finger wore a large ring made of a strange metal. The alien metal was a dark green and had a small glow coming from the middle, where the shape of a lantern was engraved. An image of the same lantern was printed in the middle of his chest in a white circle. I heard Green Lantern clear his throat and look past my shoulder. Before I could turn around I felt a large body close to me, a comforting heat radiating from it. "You shake it," the voice said gruffly. It was Flash's voice, his hot lips grazing the tips of my ear as he leaned over my shoulder and his chest pressed into my back. A heat rose up to the back of my neck and ears, a fiery blush on my tanned skin from the new contact. It was a feeling I'd never experienced before and caused a wave of nonplus and dubiety to come over my body that all I could think of to do was reach my hand out to shake Green Lantern's hand in a greeting. Albeit having no idea how to respond to Fastman. He slowly leaned away from me as Green Lantern turned his back away from us to focus on propelling the energy bubble forward to the lab. An unexpected shiver ran down my spine as goose bumps rose onto my arms and neck where Flash's lips had been moments before. A few moments later I finally summed up my courage to look next to me where Flash stood a couple of feet away, his expression stoic at best. He seemed content at not meeting my eyes, only making me more and more curious about the situation. The rest of the trip was quiet as I mauled over what had just happened.

We finally reached the River Blood Research Center. It was a large building by the side of a cliff, and the waves of the salty ocean below crashed against the gray jagged rocks, forming a misty spray. As we touched down, Green Lantern's bubble dissipated and the state of the air changed drastically. The moist air rushed towards me in a wave and engulfed my senses. The strong salty flavor in the air and the sting in my eyes were almost overpowering. I was raised in the dry heat of Africa for so long that it felt as if I was drinking water straight out of the air here. Apparently I had been still for too long. Flash placed a warm hold on my shoulder before leading me behind Green Lantern into the large building.

The building was very large and was made of gray stone walls, high windows, thick cement support beams, and green tiled floors. In the middle of where we were was a large counter with beakers and tubes and lots of paper work. Green Lantern was talking to the professor and I was trying my hardest to be able to pay attention. After all the work I've done today, it wasn't that surprising that I had trouble focusing. This part of the mission just seemed so slow. The woman that we were questioning seemed just as impatient as I was. "I'm sorry. I can't explain their behavior. They're both highly respected experts in their fields." Green Lantern looked from the folder he was holding to the doctor. He quirked an eyebrow and placed the manila folder on the table with the beakers.

"They certainly don't fit the profile of armed robbers." Green Lantern was right, something about this seemed… off. Those men didn't seem at all like they'd steal anything, no matter what the reason. They were obviously well paid by the state of their clothes and body weight, so it couldn't have been for money. The woman said that they were under extreme pressure to finish their latest project, as if that were an excuse for stealing. She was probably saying they could have gone crazy, but I knew that wasn't the case either. Why would they want to steal radioactive isotopes?

Green Lantern and the doctor continued speaking while I walked over to where Flash was standing a few feet away from the conversation. This investigation was starting to get really boring; the stuff back home was never this slow. It was simple. See a poacher, attack him and make him run away from your territory crying like the baby he is, and then go steal lunch in town. It was THAT simple. I smiled to myself and mumbled, "Too much research, not enough action." Flash heard me and laughed, probably at how impatient I was.

"I used to think the same thing, but don't worry. It gets more interesting later on," I looked up and saw that he was already smiling. It was nice to have someone to talk to and feel like you could be completely honest and not have to hide anything. There were no barriers to make you nervous or awkward feelings to make your stomach tighten and make you feel like you should go back and erase. I must have been looking up at Flash for too long. His glance dropped from my eyes and flashed for the smallest of moments before looking back down at the floor. His speed was so immaculate he probably didn't think I noticed, but I did. For a reason I couldn't understand at that moment, he'd looked at my mouth, and the thought made me blush and want to turn my head away. For a time in many I was glad I wore the mask. He must have noticed the tense situation too, so he frivolously walked over to where monkeys were being held in cages to try and focus on something else. I wavered for a moment before taking a brave step and following behind him.

The cages seemed way too small for my liking and made my stomach twist and my teeth grind. They should be in a big green forest with their families, not in small metal cages with a bunch of bananas in front of them and certainly not in a lab being tested on! My mind screamed and I fought every fiber and nerve in my body not to leap forward and lift up the latch that locked these poor animals up. In a way I felt like I was one of them. Feeling small and insignificant as some greater power decided whether to release you to where you should be, or keep you held up until they were done with you, was something I was all too familiar with these days. Flash took a step closer to the cage and bent over, taping a gloved finger on the metal bars and smiling. I had no clue why he enjoyed seeing them like that. After a few seconds Fastman got bored again, grabbed a banana that was on a stand in front of the cages, and started to walk around.

I turned my back from the abhorrent scene and folded my arms over my chest. Green Lantern was still questioning the female doctor and I could start to tell by her standoff behavior that she didn't like being questioned anymore, which made it seem all the more suspicious. The doctor grabbed the folder aggressively from Lantern and snapped it shut. "That's classified information." This really was getting us nowhere. When I looked back I noticed Flash waving a banana tauntingly in front of a very large black gorilla.

"Want one?" He asked the gorilla as I ran toward him, but somehow the scientist was already next to him and grabbed the banana out of his hand. Fastman let out a protest as she pointed angrily at a sign hanging above the cage, which made his tense muscles relax. I squinted at the sign as the doctor stomped away. The longer I worked with the Justice League the more I realized that I desperately needed to learn how to read. Flash shrugged his shoulders as he looked back at Green Lantern and we made our way back to Central City.

**Page 74**


	11. Chapter 11 Trust Issues

The Girl of the Wild Ch.11

Trust Issues

The air was cool and calming as we stood in the park. The slight breeze from the west made my thick hair slide out from behind my ears and trail in a long blonde wave behind me. It probably felt colder to me than it really was, considering I was from Africa and all. I looked around me as Flash ordered food from the vender near us, with Green Lantern next to him with his arms folded. I noticed we both surveyed the park, but probably for different reasons. The African American man was probably looking around for threats or something, and I- for the first time in forever- was looking out for the beauty of my new land. Two nurses in green scrubs stood by a ledge that overlooked the city and drank a creamy brown drink with a green woman drawn on the front of the cup. A skinny man in nice clothing walked with his young son down the pathway and an older woman was resting on a bench reading a book- if only I had that luxury.

My smell was wafted with something that smelled delicious- and meaty. So I couldn't eat it, remember, I'm a vegetarian! I turned my head back at Green Lantern and Flash, the speedster holding about twenty of something in his arms. I was astonished by the large amount of food, but didn't question it. This was the food that he had all but begged Green Lantern to let him get. I had thought it quite hilarious at that moment seeing the speedster I had given the nickname of Fastman begging like a little boy for a treat. His relationship with the other hero almost reminded me of what it might have been like to have been normal and have a father at home. But I ignored that thought of what if and looked over at Fastman with widened eyes. "What are those?" I asked him as he tried to stuff a whole one in his mouth. With a muffled voice he told me that they were called hotdogs. "Hotdogs?" I yelled, causing a couple of passersby to turn their heads and stare at me. After Flash had swallowed one of these ghastly hotdogs (whole might I add) he smiled impishly at me and sighed.

"They're not _really _made of dogs." My eyes returned to their normal shape and I shook the rigidness out of my arms. The idea of something made out of the cute animals just made me angry, but if they weren't dogs… What were these hot_dogs_ made of? I expressed my confusion and saw Fastman awkwardly glance at the hero with the military haircut and defined jaw. He was who I then turned to for answers. Green Lantern leaned over and whispered in my ear, luckily not the way Flash had earlier this evening! He told me what it was in a hushed voice and I was astonished. Really? Over all the meat in the world, they decided to make a food out of that? And name it hot_dog_? And it smelled like it tasted _so good _too. I really needed to eat something. Usually at home I was almost never hungry. It wasn't that I ate a lot and always had food in my belly, because trust me, that was far from true. There had been many days that I spent without eating a single crumb or had a single drink of fresh water. Being here I was starting to get used to eating whenever I felt like it. If I didn't watch out I'd start to get fat.

I looked back around the park, basked in its beauty, and closed my eyes and breathed in the fresh air. I could feel a wave of euphoria hit me as the beating sun hit my still tanned skin, it wasn't as nice with my mask on to block some of the rays, but I still loved it. It seemed like days since M'Gann, Supergirl, Stargirl, and Wonder Girl had gone shopping with me this morning, and a lifetime since I'd been transported into that awful Watchtower. As I opened my eyes again and looked around, I tried my hardest to fight the urge to run away and let out my wild side. I wanted to climb the green shady trees behind us and feel their smooth wood under my finger nails, or to roll in the grass that was so green it looked like it wasn't even real.

But above all, I fought the urge to run to the fountain by the lady sitting on the bench and splash around. I could almost feel the cool water on my skin, the liquid making my cheetah patterned blouse get drenched, and the cool smooth tile of the fountain beneath my scarred feet. A smile reached my face as I imagined it. I think I was just about to do what my fantasy created before GL's baritone voice brought me back with its impatience. "Can you hurry up? We're supposed to be conducting an investigation." Although he was being a bit of a damper on the day at the park, he was right.

"Is it my fault I have a hyper accelerated metabolism?" The speedster asked as he made his way over to a concrete wall to sit on with the hotdogs in his arms and a childish grin on his face. I was starting to wonder if I needed to call him Smiley, or Smiles maybe. I wondered though. A hyper accelerated metabolism was really a thing? I was starting to wonder if I had that with the way my stomach was growling and gurgling. _**(_Sorry dear readers, I was hungry when I wrote this part. ; D_)**_

Just as the red clad hero was about to sit down we started to hear panicked screams and yelling. As Flash stood up on alert a man with long hair ran past us shouting, "There's a gorilla on the loose!" A devilish smile rose up on my face and spread until it felt like it was at the ends of my ears. I flexed my fingers and balled them up into tight fists. This was my moment, my way to prove to the League that they messed up at keeping me locked up in that tower_**. **_Furthermore, helping panicked animals was something I was trained my whole life to be able to do, and I like to think it's something I am good at.

Just as I was about to run off I hear Flash yell behind me, "I'm on it!" A red and yellow blur ran past me and down the concrete pathway at such a great speed that I could undoubtedly tell it was Flash. The blast threw my hair out in an awkward direction and I tried my best to swipe it out of my face with open palms. Over my shoulder was Green Lantern with a handful of unfinished hot dogs in his arms and a look on his face that told everyone who saw it and knew Flash, that the speedster had done this before. Green Lantern was about to tell Flash to wait as he placed the hot dogs on the cart and his ring started to glow in anticipation. But just as he was about to fly off the vendor cupped him on the shoulder and says in a gruff voice, "Not before paying for that!" The remaining superhero sighed as he dug out the wallet he'd had hidden who knows where in his suit. Meanwhile, I had gone ahead and was running toward where black and white cars with blue and red lights were driving.

After I ran for a few minutes I came upon the scene. About five men were running after a large gray ape. The men wore thick black long sleeve shirts with gray padding and helmets and although they wore different uniforms from the few ones I had seen in Zimbabwe, I could tell they were police and animal control. The large primate ran on all fours to a group of monkey bars, which he climbed before running away from the men in gray and black gear. I ran towards the men and placed my feet in a firm stance so that they couldn't easily pass me. I waved my hands at them and shouted in the most commanding voice I could muster, "Stop!" One of the police, which I had been preventing from moving, stuck his arm out and roughly pushed me to the side. "Get out of the way, Cheetah Girl, and let us do our job." I huffed and puffed in exasperation as I chased after him.

"I'm here to help, let me talk to him," I pleaded but the man and the others just continued to chase after the frightened animal. These humans really were stupid, I thought. One pulled out a gigantic gun from who knows where and positioned it on his shoulder expertly as he looked through its lens. A look of complete terror crossed my face as my memories flashed to the scene when I was twelve years old and saw a man with a similar gun shoot down Gera right in-front of me. I didn't see the man in the gray helmet and armor any more, now I saw a man with scraggily features and a black hideous beard that matched his cold eyes and sinister scowl. The man was a cynic, gunning down Gera right in-front of me. That day I had lost just a little bit more of the childhood that was all but ripped from me. Before I could even control it, the scene before me changed into a macabre of death and blood- hideous crimson blood everywhere. It felt like it was on my hands, dipping down my arms in the warm thick liquid as it ran to my fingers and sent a chill through my body. It coated my arms, and before I could even think about it, I let out a shrill clash cry and vehemently ran toward the man as forcefully and fast as I could.

I'd later tell myself that it hadn't been me, that I had had no control of my own body at that moment. But I knew better, what I had done then was one hundred percent me. I tackled the man to the ground and held his arms above his head, clamping them down to the grass lawn and digging in my sharp nails until I felt his blood drip. The gun went off with a 'pow!' and I whipped my wild and animalistic face to where it was pointed. And then the landscape changed, and I was no longer in the wild of my home in Zimbabwe. I was in Central City Park and the animal I was protecting was no longer my giraffe teacher, but a large gray gorilla I had only met today. I stood up from the terrified policeman and released my tenacious grip from his bleeding wrists. The gun hadn't been one with bullets or poison to kill the animal, but a net launcher. It was merely a net launcher that was meant to capture the primate, not hurt him. Thanks to me, he was still running panicked and confused towards unsuspecting civilians who could now be harmed, all because of me and the fact that it seemed I couldn't control myself anymore.

A pain sickening feeling overcame me and I felt as if I might double over from the pain I caused. I was supposed to be helping these people, and showing the Justice League- that Flash all but idolized- that I was ready for hero work. This was supposed to show them they made a mistake by keeping me locked up, not prove to them how right they were. I looked wearily around and saw the confused and terrified looks of the people around me. A female officer was helping the man that I tackled back up, and when I saw the damage I'd caused him I let out a muffled whimper. His nose was bleeding, his hair was ruffled and a look of pure fear was on his face. His wrists were bleeding and I didn't understand why until I felt a chill in my hands. Lifting my hands and looking down I saw my nails were caked with his blood, patches of it buried under my long finger nails. It was just like the scene I had kept dormant and concealed in my mind all those years, except it was different. The blood on my hands wasn't the beloved giraffe's, it was the man's and this time it was I who caused the pain. This time, I was the monster.

It was too much for me to be there anymore and I ran- ran as fast as I could. Tears were streaming down my face and behind my mask, causing the paper Mache to get soaked and a bit soggy. All I wanted to do was go hide and bury my face in my knees, but I tried to stay strong and not let the obfuscate memory over take me again. There was still a job that needed to be done. The gorilla's footprints weren't hard to track along the pathway and they led to a busy street. A man was standing there aghast with his finger pointing down the road. "Stop him!" he shouted. "My insurance doesn't cover a second driver." By that time it was too late and the gorilla was already out of sight from the new park and was driving down the street in a gray car. I would have been surprised if I hadn't been so disorientated with the earlier events.

I tracked down the trail to a place down the street that was across the café the girls and I had eaten at this afternoon. The gray car that had been stolen was overturned and next to it, on the ground, was the gray gorilla. Standing next to him was Flash, who was bending down to help the primate. "Get your paws off me you filthy human!" he shouted in a deep voice as he stood. I wasn't surprised that I could understand him; I could always understand what an animal was saying. But by the look Flash had on his face, he could understand him too, and that's what surprised me. When the speedster was about to speak I felt a tingle on the back of my neck and looked around. It felt like someone was watching us, but when I looked around I didn't see anything. After a few moments I heard the distinct sound of a gun click above me. Above us, on the roof of a building, was a figure with a long trench coat and a gigantic gun that looked like the net launcher I saw earlier. The gun was pointed right at the unsuspecting speedster.

"Fastman, watch out!" I shouted as I leaped towards him. By the time he turned around the ray already had hit him and he collapsed on the sidewalk. I ran towards him and sat next to him with my legs tucked under me. There he was, lying vulnerable and weak in the road. He was unconscious but his body was thrashing and twisting as cries of agony enveloped it. Shock waves surrounded him and prevented me from touching him. I don't know how long this carried on, but the minutes ticked by excruciatingly. When I started to think that he'd calmed down and would arouse from his slumber it began again. He was seething and chocking in pain, but the shocks had stopped and I placed my hands on his chest to try and prevent him from hurting himself further. I was trying to keep as clear a head as possible for his stake, but it was hard with everything that had happened recently. This hero gig was not as easy as I'd thought it would be.

He started to gasp and grunt in his misery and I started to wonder if he could even breathe anymore. I began shaking his shoulders and rocking him as he yelled. But the attempt to wake him just wouldn't work, and I was starting to worry. But then- as quickly as it began- it just stopped and he was lying quietly in my lap once more. I lifted my hand and let out a relieved sigh as I stroked the cool fabric of where his hair was covered by his mask.

He woke up from his stupor so quickly that when he rose into a sitting position he almost banged heads with me. "Thank God you're awake! You scared me to death." I smiled ecstatically and reached my arms out to hug him, but he pulled away and stared at me, his amiable manner gone. I knitted my brows in confusion and dropped my arms lifelessly to my sides. He just stared blankly at me when I asked him what was wrong and he looked at me like he didn't know who I was. "Fastman, it's me, Delmira." He didn't react, didn't even say a word. He just **stared **at me. We got up together and I reached my hand towards his as I said his name slowly. Before our fingers could touch he whipped his arm out and struck me across the face.

I stumbled back and put a hand to my burning cheek in shock. I had never imagined him doing that, and as I looked towards him a fury erupted within me. Whoever this was, it wasn't Flash. It was like we were back to that day in Zimbabwe when the Justice League found me; he was the enemy. "Fambisa e dindingwe!" I shouted, and the speed of the cheetah came to me and I raised my leg in a round house kick to knock out Flash. Although it worked back in Zimbabwe, it didn't work this time and Fastman was quick to grab my ankle and push me away from him. I stumbled for a while before turning in the air for balance, and I landed gracefully on the ground in a crouch and looked at him.

His teeth were in a tight grip, showing like the madman he was acting to be, and he ran towards me at a super speed. Before I could even get up he was there and was punching at my stomach rapidly. My stomach tightened and I gritted my teeth in an arduous attempt to keep back my cries as he pummeled me. Through my pain, I called upon the strength of the elephant and felt my lost strength return and my muscles tighten. With much force I pushed away from him, did a back hand spring and my opponent flew a great few feet in the air, before landing back on the ground. I stumbled back up on weak knees and ran towards him once more, throwing punches and kicks where I could, most of which Flash expertly dodged. When the upper hand looked like it was given to me, Flash advanced and wrapped a leg behind me, knocking me off of my feet and on to the hard concrete street. This time I didn't get up, I couldn't. Flash's red boot was placed hard on my chest, making it hard to breathe. With a desperate voice I breathed out, "Please, Flash. Snap out of it."

His eyes weakened and when I thought I'd finally gotten through to him, his daze returned and he lifted the boot that was on my chest. With a quick motion he knocked me across the face and I faded into the darkness dreamlessly.

It was already dark by the time I woke up to bright green eyes staring back at me. It was Green Lantern's high-lighter green eyes that stared down with worry furrowing his brow. I sat up groggily from the ground and rubbed the side of my face. The throbbing pain was so bad it felt like someone was standing on my cranium. Green Lantern was crouched next to me with a hand on my back in case I went under again. "What happened? Where's Flash?" He said soothingly as I looked around dazed. Once I'd gathered my own thoughts and surroundings I told the hero everything that'd happened.

With his prolonged silence my head turned towards him, with my hand still placed on my temple. He finally looked towards me with an unreadable expression. "What happened to your hands?" He questioned and I dropped the hand that was on my head and looked down at my lap. Slowly and surely tears dripped down and hit the stained blood that was on my hands. The tear drops ran down my palms, leaving a clean path behind them. Before my mind knew it, my body was heaving and shaking at my sobbing and I leaned against Green Lantern for support. After a moment's pause he slowly wrapped his arms around me, shushing me in a soothing voice. In between sobs I told him everything that happened while he was gone. I told him why I was so upset, and I told him what happened to my hands, and why they were bloodied. I even told him what happened when Batman, Green Arrow, and Flash had taken me- that I couldn't control myself then and I couldn't control myself when I saw that gun aimed at that gorilla.

"I- I'm not ready," I hiccupped. "I thought I was but I'm not… I-I," I stumbled over my words and began sobbing again, louder this time. Green Lantern shushed me and rubbed comforting circles up and down my back. The sobbing slowly stopped and after my crying was done and my tear ducks were empty I leaned away from Green Lantern's chest and rubbed my flushed face. After a few sniffles and hick-ups it was quiet, with only the sound of traffic and our steady breathing. I pulled fully out of his arms and thanked him with a smile. "Sorry," I laughed weakly and we stood up, my voice still thick from my shed tears. The green hero nodded, his soft exterior gone and his war face back.

"There was a report of the same isotopes we'd rescued being stolen again. If Flash isn't with you… I have an idea where he could be. First, let's get you cleaned up." I nodded and we made our way.

While Green Lantern picked up a file I cleaned myself up in the bathroom of the building. The water washed away the dried blood as it gurgled down the drainpipe and with it my sorrows of the day. I scrubbed and scrubbed away at my hands until my fingertips were wrinkled and my palms burned from rubbing so hard. But with all that work my finger bends were still crusted with blood and I looked around for anyway to clean them. On the edge of the sink was a pair of medium sized metal nail clippers.

After cleaning my nails and washing the tears off my face I made my way out of the bathroom, and met Green Lantern in the hallway where he was holding an energy-bar out for me. I forgot how hungry I was. After I ate my snack we headed over to the police station where Flash was being held. It was pretty quiet while we walked down the darkened street with only the occasional whizzing of passing cars and clicking of traffic lights as hums. The street lights let a luminous look over take the side walk and streets as we made our way to the station. The scene was peaceful as I watched my shadow move to the side of me between Green Lantern. Although we didn't speak, the silence was comforting between us. This superhero was a quiet man and it was something I didn't mind, working in silence was something I was used to and I enjoyed having something to be familiar with in all this ciaos.

We slowly stopped and I realized we were at the police station where Flash was being held. From what the green and black clad hero had told me, he'd been charged on the belief that he'd stolen the isotopes we'd rescued. They even had him on tape! But Green Lantern assured me that if he was _really _guilty they wouldn't have been able to hold him there. I just shrugged. He looked back at me as we climbed the great steps to the door and we stopped. "Why don't you stay out here?" I nodded and leaned against the stone wall of the steps as Green Lantern walked in. The reason he wanted me to stay outside wasn't hard to guess, especially since he knew what had happened with the animal control and police men earlier.

It was a while until Green Lantern came back out the building with Fastman. I left my spot on the stairs and followed behind them, but the presence of the speedster still made me nervous and even more nervous that he didn't seem to notice. "Thanks for sticking up for me in there." He said and before I could even think of what I was doing my hand shot up and smacked him up the side of his head. It wasn't one to cause him a lot of pain, but it was enough for me to take out my anger on him from before. By the way he walked so… I couldn't think of the right word at the moment and just settled with 'Flash.' Yeah, by the way he walked so 'Flash' it was obvious he had no idea of what he had done before under that daze. The smack on the head was more of a reprimand, but it was enough for the scarlet hero to shout out an 'ow!' as he rubbed where I had hit him.

I wanted to yell at him right there on the street, tell him how stupid he was and how much he'd really scared me. But I was stubborn back then, and at that point in my life I'd never willingly tell someone how scarred I was, so I just remained quiet as Green Lantern looked between us and sighed. We stopped walking and with a strong voice the man with the power ring spoke, "What were you thinking?" His voice held that little bit of anger that made me realize how well of a father figure the Lantern would be. Flash didn't miss a beat at replying to him.

"I wasn't _thinking_ anything!" He almost yelled, but not quite, only proving to me further that it'd take a lot for him to get angry. He was a pretty happy guy, optimistic, even a bit funny when he wanted to be. My resolve for him started to fade a bit, but I still remained quiet as I watched the banter between the two. The more the day went on the more I realized how young the speedster really was. "Obviously," Green Lantern said as he folded his arms. Green Lantern, I could obviously tell was in his thirties, because he wore no mask and it was easy to pick up on his features. Flash I had trouble with. The mask covered all of the top part of his face, his eye color, even his hair color. I had original guessed he was about five years older than me, so around twenty-five, but with the way Green Lantern was treating him he could be fifteen for all I knew.

"Look, if I wanted the third degree, I could have stayed in there, like I told 'em, I don't remember." Flash was trying to convince Green Lantern that, but I could tell he was far from believing. I didn't believe Flash either. Green Lantern might have said earlier that if the speedster was really guilty he would have easily been able to slip out of the handcuffs and leave, but that didn't take away the fact that Flash stole. None of this added up. For the brief time that I'd known Fastman, I never expected him to steal. Of course, I'd never expected him to hurt me either, even in any scenario. If I'd turned evil and threatened to destroy the whole world, he'd try anything to stop me without having to lay a hand on me. Flash was just too nice. I remained quiet and mauled over the situation.

The two Justice League members began discussing what had happened earlier that day and what Flash remembered from the situation with the ape. "The gorilla talked to you?" Green Lantern interrupted Flash as he looked at him. The hero in question nodded like it was no big deal; it seemed that Green Lantern was the only who thought it was. When Flash said that he did after he stopped his car, the African American man looked at him like he was a complete mad man.

"I'm supposed to believe this?" He said, again interrupting Flash from his explanation. Neither one seemed to notice how quiet I still was, nor did I really mind. Even though Green Lantern had comforted me earlier, the events from today were still scary enough to make me want to keep silent. Flash pulled one of his hands up from his sides and gestured to Green Lantern in a way that seemed like he was trying to convince him, that's when I saw Flash relax. He must have had an idea to prove his argument was valid.

"Hey, we've both got a Martian's phone number on our speed dial," he said. "I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt, here. Besides, Del can back me up on this. Right Del." For the first time since he was released he looked down at me, and the look he gave me made my insides hurt and the walls I built up crumble a bit. I sighed and broke our gaze, looking back down at the ground. Suddenly my red sneakers and the pattern in the concrete sidewalk were very enticing to look at. I felt him shift his feet awkwardly as he placed his gloved fingers between my chin and lift it so I had to look at him. With all my heart I wanted to look away from him, to shrink into the shadows and never be found again, like the Cheshire cat in Wonderland. _I knew this time where I'd heard that story. _But sadly his grip on me was too tight and I was forced to look at him.

"Del?" He said quietly and unsure, making the ends of my eyes brim with tears. What was wrong with me today? I usually seem so strong. Snap out of it! I reprimanded myself in a harsh voice, and the tears slowly dried and were left unshed. He gingerly placed his other hand on the side of my temple where I had been hit before and I winced. "What happened?" I wanted to tell him, I really did, but I couldn't form the words. Everything I thought about telling him sounded wrong in my head.

Before he had to ask again Green Lantern broke the awkward silence and Flash released his hold from my chin, and I automatically looked back at the ground. "You hit her in the side of the face when you weren't acting like yourself," Green Lantern said. Flash looked alarmed and then looked back at me, worry overtaking his features. "I found her passed out where that car overturned and got her cleaned up." Thank goodness he didn't mention the incident with the crying, but I didn't think he would. That was a private moment and Green Lantern knew it. Flash put his hands back down to his sides slowly as a look between pain and anger crossed his features at what he'd done. I could tell he thought what he did was an atrocity, and that was enough for me to forgive him, but my walls were still up.

I know he hadn't meant it to, but today's incidents just proved to me further that humans were untrustworthy, and being one, so was I. Before he could say anything else I replied. "I am fine, you did not mean to. But I think I know what caused it. Before you blacked out I saw a figure on the roof of the building next to us with a sort of gun…" but before I could continue, Green Lantern put his finger to his ear where his com. link was and I stopped speaking. He said there was a report that the same gorilla we stopped was in the park again.

"Let's check it out. Together this time," he said firmly and we nodded. A repeat of earlier was not something we could afford. The green energy from his ring enwrapped him as he flew off towards the park. I looked back at Flash blankly and he returned the gaze. Even though words weren't transmitted, this time it was enough to show our mutual agreement. Flash hesitantly stepped forward and I tried not to flinch while he hesitantly picked me up bridal style and we ran towards the park after Green Lantern.

**Page 84**


	12. Chapter 12 Solovar

The Girl of the Wild Ch.12

Solovar

Riding along with Flash while he super-sped was really something to behold. Lights blurred by us in an array of reds and yellows and greens as we ran past cars and street lights. I didn't have as fast a mind as the speedsters did to be able to see the sights or hear the noises but it was still a beautiful scene to behold. After what seemed like just minutes we stopped, with Green Lantern searching in front of us with a light from his ring emitting the ground in front of him. "Looks like he's still at large," the speedster said as he put me down and we started to look around as well. Crickets were chirping and police walkie-talkies were squawking and I didn't exactly know what we were looking for, but I knew I'd know it when I knew it… if that makes any sense.

"Wait, I've got something." On that note, Flash and I ran towards Green Lantern, who had picked up on large gorilla prints that were leading to a tunnel in the park. We stalked inside to the tunnel quietly and looked around in the dark. My eyes searched the tunnel and saw nothing… until I looked up. I reached my arm behind me and blindly searched for someone to grab onto. Green Lantern was the one I ended up latching to and he looked forward to where I was looking. He probably didn't see anything in the pitch black without his ring to light up, but I did. I pointed a slender finger to the object that caught my interest. Green Lantern lit up his ring and pointed it forward. There in front of us was the giant gorilla we'd been searching for all day.

Before anyone could say anything the gorilla banged his fists on his chest and roared and with it came Green Lantern energy blast, which cause the animal to tumble out of the tunnel entrance. Flash, Green Lantern, and I followed swiftly behind him. "Was that really necessary?" The gorilla and I said simultaneously as Green Lantern gave a baffled look. Ha-ha, now he believed us.

"Okay, so he _can_ talk," said he and I gave a snort. This man was funny, all animals could talk, it just happened most of them he couldn't understand. This one just happened to speak English.

"My name is Solovar. I'm chief of security for Gorilla City," said Solovar and I smiled. I forgot how much I missed talking to animals, being surrounded by humans had made me start to feel nervous.

"Gorilla City, you've got to be kidding me." Flash said and my smile dropped. I ignored his commentary and gave him a condescending look over my shoulder before looking back at Solovar.

"I assure you this is no laughing matter," Solovar said and he began delving into the story of why he was here. The place that he came from- Gorilla City- had been a peaceful place for thousands of years, safely hidden from humanity. That was, until a power mad genius made a plan to overtake the city with advanced mind control technology. The genius' name was Grodd, and he used his knowledge for evil. Solovar said they were able to stop him, but not his escape. They later found out that he stole the security plans for the city on his way out. "Grodd has sworn terrible revenge on all who reside in Gorilla City."

"So that is why you have come here?" I asked calmly and soothingly. Even if he seemed calm and cultured now, I didn't know when he would turn back to the way he acted earlier. I realized I still had to give him more credit. We'd been chasing him after all and I knew from personal experience that it was hard to control yourself when you seemed pressured.

I saw him nod and look down at me. Even though I was pretty tall, this gorilla had a good foot on me. "Yes, to stop him from carrying out his threats." His voice was filled with exuberance and made me want to help him.

"If it's true he has a mind control device that could explain the isotope threats." Green Lantern said and I agreed. That would explain why Flash didn't remember anything. I sighed, but that also meant that he _really_ wasn't guilty, just like Green Lantern said. I sighed again and said exasperatedly, "And your memory loss." Flash looked down at me and I looked back. We glanced at each other wordlessly before Solovar called out attention back.

"He needs those isotopes to power his devices." Flash took an unconscious step towards me that I didn't pick up. I was too concentrated on what the gorilla was saying as he walked back to a bush near us. When he neared the shrubbery its form changed into that of a flying bike. Solovar opened the trunk of the vehicle, pulled out a tan brief case, and walked back towards us. He opened the trunk, pulled out a handful of papers, and handed them to me. Without a moment of hesitation I gave them to Green Lantern, who was standing a few feet away from me. The man with a power ring gave me a quizzical look before turning his attention back at the papers in hand while Flash looked over his shoulder.

"My investigation showed that Grodd had been carrying on an e-mail correspondence with a local scientist, Dr. Sarah Corwin." Dr. Corwin was the scientist we questioned earlier, that explained why she seemed so nervous when our group asked what they were working on at the Research Center.

"I knew there was something weird about that lady." Definitely! Even though I was raised in the wild with no human interaction, I'd never stoop low enough to have a romantic relationship with an animal, no matter how much I loved him. It'd simply never work out, lions fell for lions, gorilla felt for gorillas, and people fell in love with people. It was a fact of life. That's when a thought popped into my mind.

"That was the figure I saw shoot you on the rooftop. Dr. Corwin shot you with a mind control gun!" Flash nodded and we looked over to Green Lantern for conformation on what to do next.

"We better call the others," he said to our disappointment as he placed a hand to his com link.

"Why?" Fastman called, quickly next to me, which again I didn't notice. I was just starting to get used to him being close to me, it was kind of comforting. I was wondering the same thing he was. We could handle this, and I was getting excited to finally get my hands on some decent action, and maybe being back in Africa would convince the JLA to let me return home.

"You think we can't handle one old dumb gorilla and a love sick scientist?" Solovar and I growled at him when he let the gorilla comment slip. "No offense," he said looking back at us before swiftly looking back at the older hero. As if saying 'no offense' would erase what he said, but I let it drop and so did Solovar. "It'll be a piece of cake."

"Wait! First you must," Before Solovar could continue or Green Lantern could respond Fastman ran off. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, running off without waiting. "He's very fast," the ape said matter-of-factly as he looked back at us. I smirked. Yep, fast man he was.

"Yeah, what were you gonna say?" The primate pulled out three metal bands and handed them to us.

"These headbands will protect us from Grodd's ray." Green Lantern and I looked down at the silver bands before simultaneously placing them on our foreheads, which Solovar did after us.

"We better catch him before he gets into any more trouble," I said, mostly to myself, in a low voice and we headed over to the research center.

I hopped on the back of the flying bike with Solovar as Green Lantern flew slightly ahead of us. My arms were wrapped as best as they could around the gray ape so that I didn't fall off, but his large amount of fur would tickle if I got to close. It felt great to fly through the air with the wind whipping at your face, well, mask in this case, and through your hair. Before, in Green Lantern's energy ball, you hadn't been able to feel the wind. But this time you could, and I loved every minute of it. I didn't seem to be afraid of heights, but I closed my eyes anyway so I could just hear and feel the wind. It was quiet for a good while on the way to the River Blood Research Center before someone spoke up and it was Solovar, "So, I've noticed that you are a child of the wild. If you don't mind me asking: Is that true?" Well, that definitely starts a conversation.

"I do not mind," I said quietly, the power in my voice taken away by the wind. "It is true, although I don't really remember when or how I got it, just that I wasn't born with it." I seemed pretty okay with telling him, he was like me after all. Well, sort of, and my senses were telling me that he wouldn't share the information I gave him without my permission, but I didn't realize that our other companion might. I heard a grunt from the primate for me to continue and I did. I told him how I was trained and by who, what my daily life was like in Zimbabwe, mostly all of the important events of my life up into that weird day when Batman, Green Arrow, and Flash had come to take me away.

Solovar gave a hum of question and replied, "It does seem strange that the animals had chosen that day to act so strangely, and you said that they did not listen to you like they usually have before. Without question it seems that they were in some sort of daze or control, like the one Flash had been in earlier, but it does not seem to be the work of Grodd, or at least not him alone." I didn't hear the rest of what Grodd was saying after that, just the thought of someone being behind the incident sent chills down my spine. Who would want to mess with the animals of Zimbabwe, and where they knew I would be protecting? For a brief moment the face of the man in my nightmare appeared in my mind, before it was snatched away from my attention when I heard my name. I looked up dazed at Solovar, whose head was slightly turned back to look at me. "I'm sure it is nothing to worry about right now. Let's think of something lighter to discuss. Who's your favorite teacher, what's your favorite power to use, stuff like that." So I told him, too deep into my conversation with the gorilla to notice Green Lantern had shortened his distance between us to eavesdrop.

The cheetah speed was probably the one I used and needed the most; it was probably the handiest. However, my favorite ability was probably the gymnastics and acrobatics Monkey had taught me. My favorite teacher was left undecided. I liked Dindingwe for her comforting words and way of teaching, Ellie was my best friend back in Zimbabwe, Monkey always knew how to make me laugh, and Leon helped me the most to become stronger.

"Your life sounds very interesting; I wish I had known about it earlier. Perhaps you should write a book about it when you have free time." I nodded and a small smile escaped my lips. Maybe I would, if I ever learned to write.

"Thank you, Solovar. That means much to me." I felt a chuckle rumble up from his chest before escaping from his mouth.

"Please," he said. "I am sure we have made enough conversation to be considered friends. Call me Solo." It was my turn to laugh and I nodded, momentarily forgetting that he couldn't see me over his back.

"Okay. Thank you, _Solo_." After a few minutes my senses were overcome with the salty air and the crashing waves of the shore where the research center was located. Sure enough we touched down and the research center was ahead of us. We dismounted and ran towards the building, and Green Lantern blasted a hole through with his power ring.

When we entered the building a large black gorilla was hovering menacingly over us. Solo was pretty big in size, but this gorilla- who I guessed was Grodd- was much taller. He wore a weird looking gold colored helmet with a red jewel encrusted in the middle and stood next to Dr. Corwin, who looked pretty smug. Grodd had sharp teeth and a look in his eyes like he knew everything. This made me growl and before anyone could say anything, I took a step forward and shouted, "Do not move Grodd."

"I don't know who you are. No matter, Cheetah Girl. What's another useless human? You'll be just as easy to dispose of."

'Lion's roar, does that tick me off, this is the second time today I have been called that,' I thought. 'Not all my powers are cheetah related, the only ones are my agility, my eyes and teeth change, and I have a cheetah mask. Okay, maybe that is a lot.' I growled in frustration and took another step towards him. "Yeah, well, I am more animal than you realize," I said as I showed my sharpened teeth and let out a very cat-like hiss. Grodd ignored me and looked back at Solovar.

"Solovar, you're a fool to come here." He said in a deep voice, the sound echoing in the ominous building. I looked around the room to try to find Fastman, and found him lying unconscious on the table that had been occupied with beakers and papers earlier. What had they done to him?

"You can't control us while we're wearing these." The gray gorilla said as he tried to sound just as aggressive while gesturing to his silver head band. I had forgotten we were wearing these.

"Actually, I wasn't thinking of controlling you," I was about to run towards him and the doctor, but before anyone could question what Grodd meant by that, the red jewel on his helmet started to glow and Fastman sat up abruptly- in the same daze from earlier this morning. Oh, poop. I paused and looked at the white lenses of Flash's mask. Green Lantern looked surprised, but the expression on Solovar's face hardly changed.

"Destroy them!" Grodd shouted as he ran into the other room- Dr. Corwin right behind him. A scowl reached the brain controlled Flash as he super-sped to us and hit Solovar, sending the primate tumbling into the nearest wall. Solo passed out into a heap of gray fur in the rubble when he collided with the wall, knocking his ray gun out of his hands, and leaving just Green Lantern and I to fight the speedster off. We looked back at Solovar, before looking quickly back at Fastman, afraid he might attack us when we're not looking.

"Should have seen that coming," Green Lantern said as he summoned an energy shield from his ring and smacked Flash to the ground. The speedster grunted, but got back up with one knee bended on the ground. He picked up Solovar's ray hand gun and aimed in at Green Lantern. My friend under the mind control shot at the Green Lantern, but it just reflected back off from the African American's silver head band. I was taken back. I hadn't realized how dangerous Flash could be when I was fighting him, but now that I saw him fighting one of the Justice League members I saw it.

"Flash, snap out of it," Green Lantern commanded, but the speedster just continued to shoot the gun and spin around in a circle, trying to find an opening against the hero. It was enough to snap me out of my reverie and back into action. I ran towards him and did a hand spring, knocking the ray gun out of his hands. It clattered to the ground and Flash looked at me before running around the room, narrowly avoiding Green Lantern's blasts of energy. After a few minutes the speedster stopped and started throwing beakers at us! I dodged them and ran towards Flash where he was standing behind a table between us. He threw another beaker at me and it hit me on the side of the face when I tried to grab him over the table.

It came in contact with my scull but somehow managed to not break my skin, it did get me dazed enough to allow him to get away from the table and out of my grasp. "Hold still," Green Lantern barked in agitation as he started and failed to hit Flash again with his ring. When Lantern started to think he had Flash, the speedster ran behind a support beam, and before Green Lantern could stop it, the energy from his ring hit the beam, causing it to start to crumble. Before I could run to move him; the beam crumbled and hit Lantern on the back, knocking him out under the pile of rubble.

"GL," I shouted, using Flash's nickname for the hero. At no response, I looked back at Mind Control Flash and seethed. A guttural growl escaped my lips and I looked back at the speedster, my fists balled and my teeth clenched so hard it almost gave me a head ache. "Okay, you are really starting to annoy me." I must have been in an intense anger, because I felt my teeth and nails sharpen into that of a cat, and my eyes flash into their cat like appearance. No one would be surprised if I started to grow a tail too.

Mind Control Flash ignored my silent threat and picked up a steel pipe, walking slowly and menacingly to where GL laid lifeless. I didn't even think about what to do next, I just did it. I sneaked up behind him quietly and jumped on his back, placing my legs around his hips and my arms around his neck in a tight headlock, trying to hold him back. Mind Control Flash dropped the steel pipe, causing it to clatter on the floor with a metallic clang. He reared his head and thrashed his arms around in an attempt to get free, but my grip didn't loosen enough for him to go forward again. This continued on for a few moments before Mind Control Flash started to back up, and before I could do anything he rammed me into a wall_. _The wall collided with my back and I cried out as the speedster pressed harder and harder to the barrier. The sickening sound of crunching ribs reached my ears and I knew they were mine. It felt like an elephant was standing on them, and I knew if I didn't let go, they could break and if that happened there'd be a high chance of a punctured lung. I couldn't take that chance and started to loosen my grip in my striking pain, my teeth held so tight together it felt like they might shatter. He hit the wall one more time, causing my head to rear back and hit the concrete wall. I heard a sickening crack and plummeted down on the ground.

My vision was blurry and it felt like everything was spinning. I saw the red image of Mind Control Flash pick up the steel pipe once again and walk back to the rubble were Green Lantern was. If the mind control made him hurt Green Lantern anymore and Flash woke up, he'd probably never forgive himself. As the world started to get darker and I felt that I might go under, rocks flew away from the rubble and a large piece smacked Flash across the stomach, knocking him a few feet away. Somehow GL had woken up under the rubble and had pushed it away just in time.

The fuzzy form of Green Lantern walked over to the fuzzy form of Solovar. Everything was just fuzzy and spinning, and it was very hard for me not to pass out. As GL started to ask Solo if he was okay I saw Mind Control Flash get back up, grab his stupid pipe, and walk back over to the two males. Clearly I wasn't a threat anymore, lying dazed and half passed out on the floor in the corner. "Look out!" my voice slurred as I tried to yell as hard and clear as I could in my rapid and shallow breathing. Luckily I was loud and clear enough for Lantern to take notice.

"I hate to do this," he said to Mind Control Flash as he threw a powerful punch to the speedster's face. It connected and the he tumbled a few feet before landing limply on the floor with a loud grunt. "Sorry kid- had no choice," Green Lantern said as he made his way towards me. Solovar walked over to the direction where the doctor and Grodd fled. When the primate was out of sight Green Lantern walked over to me and helped me up. My head still spun, but GL checked my eyes and said I didn't have a concussion. I was lucky, but he told me to sit down while Flash came to, just in-case.

I heard Fastman moan as I sat down next to him cross legged and placed my hands in my lap. Green Lantern said it was very improbable that Flash would wake up and attack me again. He said the 'cognitive recalibration' would work- whatever cognitive recalibration was. _**(hehe, Avengers quote). **_But I really hoped he wouldn't wake up and attack me again. I didn't know if I'd be able to handle it again. My strength was teetering on the edge, along with my trust. As I looked down at Flash I gave an involuntary side-smile. It wasn't a happy one though, and it was small. I didn't mean to be upset with him, I really didn't. But after being attacked so many times today, and by someone I thought I could trust, it was taking a toll on me. I just started opening myself up to humans, and this is what it got me. I sighed and looked away from my friend's sleeping face. I didn't notice Green Lantern look at us and walk away to where Solovar walked off, and I didn't care.

It was a couple minutes of dead silence until I heard a crash and I whipped my head towards the door where everyone else had left, and where the loud crash had come from. My ears perked up in interest and I felt my body become rigid. That's when I heard GL shout, "NO!" and I stood up as fast as I could. The abrupt change in altitude caused my injured head to spin and a wave of nausea overcame me. I stumbled a bit and look forward. There was a blast and a scream and a bright light came rushing towards me, knocking out all my vision and I felt my body plummet to the ground and hit something hard below me. All I could see was the light, the bright yellow light, and the last thing I thought before the bright turned into dark was, "I most certainly will not be returning to the Watch Tower by the end of the night." A gurgling scream escaped my lips from the pain of the fall, and I was released to the darkness.

**Page 92**


	13. Chapter 13 We're Still Here

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 13

We're Still Here

"We're still here," I heard a deep voice say above me when I started to wake. The voices were murmuring about what had happened earlier on the mission. My eyes started to flutter open and then snapped closed again. Everything was blurry and white and spinning. After a few more minutes the voice was recognized at Green Lantern's, someone who I'd met just yesterday.

"So it seems," that was Solovar's voice I recognized then and I tried my best to sit up without trying to hurt my head. My eyes fluttered open again and I sat up from my back drowsily. The blast had knocked us out and now Grodd was gone, with Flash still passed out on the floor. I reached a delicate hand up to my head and looked around me to see Green Lantern and Solovar staring inquisitively back at me.

"Wha- what happened?" I mumbled dazedly as I tried to calm my roaring head. I had a pretty good idea of what had happened, but I wanted someone to confirm it for me- just in case. The gray ape and green clad superhero glanced at each other in question before they walked over to me. Green Lantern reached out a hand to help me up as Solovar spoke.

"Grodd, he activated his plan." He said simply as I stood up and we heard a moaning noise from Flash, who was still passed out on the floor. Green Lantern let go of my hand and turned to Solovar.

"The mind control- is he still," but Solovar answered him before he continued.

"No," he said simply. "This should be able to protect him." Solovar then produced another silver head band and put it around the speedster's cranium. The band glowed and crackled before sending a shock that abruptly woke up Flash. The red costumed speedster sat up and jerked his head around shouting, "Who, what, where?" Then his eyes slowly made their way back to Green Lantern and Solovar, before landing on me.

"You were put under his mind control again," I said as I crossed my arms and stared rigidly at Flash. In the corner of my eye I noticed Green Lantern and Solovar glanced at each other before looking back at us.

"Aw man, not again." Flash pulled his knees up closer to himself and rested his elbows on them as he put his palm to his forehead. I could start to tell he was getting annoyed with all the mind control business. "What did I miss?" He said as he looked back at us. Green Lantern extended his hand to help Flash up.

When they were standing he said to Flash, "That dumb ole gorilla got away," quoting Flash when he said this was going to be easy. Flash crossed his arms at Green Lantern's mocking and looked away as he said, "Go ahead; rub it in."

Lantern just ignored the speedster's cheeky comment and said, "This time, we're calling in for help." As he and Flash pressed their forefingers to their ears I could hear static coming from the other line of the link. They couldn't reach the others at the tower.

"And for good reason," Solovar said as he walked to the large whole in the side of the building where we blasted in. The rest of us peered out of the opening and noticed how different everything looked. There was a thick gray wrapping on the outside of the city. It covered the whole sky and almost symbolized some kind of strange fog.

"What is that?" I asked as I looked out amongst the city. Solovar looked back at me before facing back towards the city.

"Whatever it is, it's just like the shield that protects my city." I recalled what Solovar had said earlier about the shield that protected his city. He said the only reason why Grodd had escaped earlier was because the shield had been disabled at that time.

"Nothing can get in or out?" This was more of a statement than a question. Everyone knew it was true. However hard we tried, we wouldn't be able to get out of this city anytime soon, no matter how hard we tried. The quest seemed lost until Green Lantern thought up a possible solution.

"If I can shut down the generator, we might just be home free." I clenched my hands to my sides in determination. I'd never imagined myself actually wanting to get back to the Tower, but I was ready to defeat Grodd and get out of the city.

It seemed like we were walking around the city for hours and we still couldn't find a clue as to where Grodd was. All the signs of light were gone from the sky and it was starting to get really cold. This day has turned out to be one of the longest days I'd ever experienced. It was probably about 3 in the morning in Central City, and I was really starting to feel sleepy. With that thought I let out a long yawn and saw Flash look back at me with a side smile. But besides his warm demeanor, this place was really starting to give me the creeps.

As if reading my thoughts, I heard Flash whisper, "This is weird. Am I the only one creeped out here?" I gave out a shaky laugh and raised one of my hands high up into the air.

"Nope, I am too," I said as I put my hand back down to my side. "Where is everyone?" Our group stopped walking and turned around. It was deadly quiet and there wasn't a sign of life anywhere. Had Grodd done something so powerful to the city that everyone was in hiding, or worse?

Solovar offered that the shield might frighten them and that's why no one was out, but I highly doubted that. "Could be," Flash said as he looked back around the city. "But usually when a city looks this empty, flesh-eating zombies are involved." I didn't know what a zombie was but the "flesh-eating" part sounded very macabre. I felt relieved when Green Lantern shook his head in disdain and told Flash he watched too many horror movies, but now I was curious about watching these movies. After a moment of silence we began to hear shouting from far away. We looked back at Flash who had a large smirk on his face as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Maybe you don't watch enough," he said as he pointed his head toward Green Lantern and began to walk off.

We started to follow Flash toward the source of the shouting, but Flash got excited and sped away from us, leaving Green Lantern, Solovar, and I in his wake. Green Lantern picked Solovar and me up into the air and we flew off towards the town square.

Green Lantern put Solo and me on the ground where Flash was standing outside of a large group of people. We were at the edge of town square and the place was huge. The crowd of people was still shouting, but now that we were closer I could hear what they were shouting. "Grodd, Grodd, Grodd," they said repeatedly as their voices got louder and faster, until all you could here was a buzzing noise. They were all facing towards a large platform with a gigantic TV screen behind it. As my eyes roamed from the swarming crowd to the stage, I realized what all the fuss was about. Grodd and the doctor were on the stage and the TV was showing a feed of Grodd's face. I stole a questioning glance to the others before looking back to the front.

Grodd raised his fist into the air and the crowd shouted in triumph. We were too late; the people of Central City were already under his control. Flash stuttered a bit and we turned back towards him. "How many headbands do you have left?" He asked, but the question was unnecessary. I knew there wasn't going to be enough for all these people.

"One," I shook my head. These Justice League missions would prove to be a lot harder than the ones back in Zimbabwe.

"That's not going to be enough," I mentally hit my palm to my face. _Way to point out the obvious Fastman._ The crowd continued to chant and shout as Grodd raised his fists up into the air and gave a conquering holler and the crowd followed suit. At that moment we decided to stop standing there and pushed through the crowd, dividing the people in our way. The people of Flash's city just ignored us as the continued to be entranced by Grodd.

"People of Central City, the age of hairless, simple-minded humanity is over," Grodd swept his arm out towards the people before clutching it back to his chest. "Today a new age dawns," I couldn't believe Dr. Corwin was just going along with everything Grodd was saying. But she just remained behind him with a smile on her face and her papers clutched to her chest. I noticed from behind me how rigid Flash had become during our journey. I felt his stance tighten and his muscles clench as he heard more and more of the lies Grodd was spouting out. Sooner or later the speedster was going to say something he'd regret. "Today, Grodd rules," Flash looked around at the crowd as the people raised their fists and shouted their enthusiasm. Fastman crossed his arms and looked away with an irritated expression. I knew people could do wrong things and I didn't agree to what some of them did, but I knew the things Grodd was saying weren't true. People were capable of great things.

As Grodd began to talk I began to get irritated, and I clenched my jaw and allowed a growl to escape in irritation. The rally must have finally gotten to Fastman because I saw him shift his feet and bring his hands to his mouth to project sound. "Hey! Who you calling slow?" I somehow let a smile escape my mouth. I just knew the speedster would comment at Grodd's latest quip on humanity. Green Lantern, however, did not feel the same.

"Flash, don't heckle the supervillain." Flash put down his hands before looking back at Green Lantern who was standing slightly behind Flash and I.

"Why?" He asked. "We don't have to listen to this crap." I noticed people in the crowd began to stare back at us with unhappy faces. I saw a few shift their positions and step closer to us. When Flash had shouted his defense the citizens had finally noticed our presents among the crowd. This wasn't good; we had to make a plan, quick. We were in the middle of the crowd, which consisted of the whole population of Central City, and we had nowhere to go. I said Fastman's name slowly in a warning but he didn't listen.

"Humans are inferior creatures," Grodd continued as he looked among the brainwashed citizens. He swept out his arm and clenched it in a fist as he said, "fit only to serve at my whim." The gorilla released his fist and looked back among the mass. He put his arm to the side and said, "But after Gorilla City falls, you will be the paving stones on which I will build my new empire." Grodd really sounded enthusiastic about world domination as he began to pump his gigantic hand into the air and the crowd cheered. It seemed they'd forgotten about us, until Flash decided it was time to remind them. "Hey Monkey Boy, why don't you go climb a skyscraper?" I realized it must have been another movie reference, because I didn't understand it.

This time we weren't as lucky and Flash's remark had brought Grodd to notice that we were still alive. "Intruders," he shouted as he pointed a hairy finger at us. "Destroy them!"

'He really likes others to do his dirty work,' I thought as we began to slowly back away from the crowd. The crowd began to chant what Grodd had commanded them to do and inch their way towards us. "You just couldn't keep your big mouth shut. Could you?" I yelled angrily at Flash as my anger flared.

Green Lantern took quick action and flew up into the air, creating a trench around us with his power ring. "Make yourselves scarce," he shouted above the tumult. "I'm going after Grodd," and with that, Green Lantern flew off with Fastman, Solo, and I to fend for ourselves. That barrier GL formed wasn't going to hold them back long and the brainwashed citizens began to jump in to get to us. I could feel my heartbeat speed up as I stood frazzled with Solovar and Flash on each of my flanks. I couldn't understand how they could stay so calm in a situation like this.

"What'd you say about those horror movies?" I said shakily as I looked back at Flash, who was already positioned in a fighting stance. I raised my shaking hands up to my face and tried to get in a fighting stance I remembered before looking back up at Flash. Flash smiled down at me as we readied our fighting stance back to back.

"Maybe you and I could see one sometime?" A small smile reached my lips as I felt my hands slowly stop their shaking. Whether Flash was kidding or not, it made me calmer to see him keep a clear head in this stressful situation. Before I could say anything I saw two girls climb out of the dugout and I faced towards them. 'What are they wearing?' I thought as I raised my left eyebrow under my mask. The two girls were wearing crop tops, tight fitting pants, and enough make-up to pass off for clowns. But what I was really worried about was how I was supposed to keep them from hurting us if I couldn't hurt them. "Destroy. Destroy." They chanted as they stepped closer towards us.

Solovar shouted to stay back and was about to point his stun gun at the two when Flash sped up with a large smile on his face and shoved the gun away. The speedster's body language was opened and his hands open at his sides almost like… he was about to give a hug? "Hey, girls, it's me, remember? I saved your lives this morning."

"Destroy, destroy!" They shouted as the girl with raven hair threw a rock at him. The rock connected with his shoulder before crumbling into dirt on the ground. Solovar quickly took action and zapped the girls with the gun and they crumbled to the ground asleep. I couldn't help but chuckle as I stepped closer to the sleeping girls and looked back at Fastman. "That's gratitude for you," Flash gave me a snubbed look before looking away for a moment.

"Will you excuse me for a sec?" There wasn't room for a response before Flash zoomed off in a red blur and a gust of wind. I turned back to fighting off Grodd's lackeys with Solo. A few seconds later there was a high pitched beeping and a large blast and I concluded that it had probably come from where Flash had gone.

Green Lantern returned after a couple of minutes and asked where Flash was. Solovar just shook his head as he shot at the ground with his gun and I ducked away from a flying rock. Green Lantern flew off again and Solovar and I continued to fight. We were slowing them down but they just kept returning. They must have been getting tired, but Grodd's control was too powerful for fatigue to break the control.

Flash zoomed back to us and Solovar shouted, "Flash, we can't hold them off much longer."

"How much do you weigh?" Flash shouted back as we ducked a few more rocks and another explosion went off in the distance.

"About 400 of your pounds. Why do you a-" Solovar finished yelling ask as Flash scooped us up into his arms and rain off away from the hoard of brainwashed.

Before I could even realize what happened, Flash had put us down and we were back into where we had heard the crowd the first time. That seemed like it was hours ago, and it probably was. I looked over and saw Flash resting his hands on his knees as he tried to gain back his breath. "400 pounds huh?" He puffed as he heaved in another batch of air. "You sure you did the math right?"

I saw a green light above me and looked up to see Green Lantern flying towards us. Flash stood up straight as Green Lantern landed down to face us. "Grodd got away again," He said as the green light that kept him in the air disappeared and returned into his ring. We exchanged grim looks before we heard GL say that if Grodd used his rocket bike to get away, then his power ring could track him to where Grodd was hiding.

Flash exposed a large white smile as he said, "I gotta get me one of those."

98


	14. Chapter 14 In the Name of Grodd

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 14

In the Name of Grodd

Green Lantern had used his power ring to track Grodd's rocket bike to a large base on the outside of the city. "He must be inside," Green Lantern said as we walked closer to a guard station outside. When we approached an army guard jumped out of the booth and shouted at us.

"Halt! In the name of Grodd!" He pointed his glock toward us and before we could do anything the guard began shooting. I was really getting tired of these stupid brain controlled zombies. Grodd was really petty if he had to get innocent people to fight his own battles. I avoided the gunshots by running back and forth in a zig-zag motion and did a flip when the guard tried shooting in front of me. As I neared the guard I grabbed the underside of the gun barrel and hit the bend of the guard's arm. I hit the officer's helmet with the hilt of his gun, knocked the guard unconscious, and I lowered him slowly to the ground. Then I flicked my wrist and the gun was thrown a few feet away from us. This happened all in the span of a few seconds.

I put my hands on my hips before looking back up and turning to the others. "I am really getting tired of this oversized monkey." Flash smiled approvingly. After a few seconds Solovar stepped forward and chopped down the guard station gate with his forearm.

"Hurry," he said. "Before Grodd finds out we're here." A loud striking alarm began to sound off at the base and we all glanced frantically at each other.

"Something tells me he already knows," Flash yelled over the roaring as we looked around in preparation for an attack.

"No! That's a launch sequence!" Green Lantern yelled in panic. As we all began to run forward, we saw four missiles shoot up into the air and fly off ahead of us. As we looked up into the starry night we saw a clear portal open and swallow the missiles heading toward it. "I'll go after the missiles," Green Lantern said as his green energy surrounded him and he sailed up above us. "You stop Grodd," he ordered as he flew off into the portal. A cool breeze went by and GL and the portal disappeared.

"Right," I said as I nodded my head and began to walk forward before feeling a hand on my shoulder. I turned around and saw Flash with his eyebrows pulled forward. "Stop Grodd… How?" I asked and saw a smile grace his lips, which caused me to smile as well.

"I may have a plan."

We had snuck into the base and were now in the room with Grodd and the doctor. "Missile number one deactivated," Doctor Corwin said as she looked up from the computer towards Grodd.

"How?" Grodd seethed from his seat as he pounded his fist on the giant video screen's keyboard. Solovar and I were in the doorway of the room with Flash leaning against the pole with his arms and ankles crossed.

"My guess," Fastman said as he stood up straight and took a step toward the giant ape. "It was my buddy with the power ring."

Grodd whipped around and gritted his teeth at us, narrowing his eyes in disgust, "you again." Solovar pointed his gun at his enemy and shouted.

"Grodd, you're under arrest for crimes against Gorilla City." Grodd had a puzzled look on his face.

"Now, you must not think you can actually win can you," he said as he stood up from his seat. He then shouted as he pointed at the monitor, "In five minutes there won't be a Gorilla City!"

"Missile number two deactivated," Doctor Corwin said sadly as she looked at the computer. Grodd whipped his head back at the computer and growled.

"It is over Grodd," I said and smirked. Grodd yelled his discontent as he threw a punch towards me. I was able to dodge the heavy blow, but Solovar hadn't been too lucky. Grodd's fist flew past me and connected with Solovar's cheek, knocking him out onto the cold floor.

"I won't lose to the likes of you," the black ape said as he stood over my comrade. Flash zoomed behind Grodd and tapped his mind control helmet repeatedly.

"Guess who," Flash sing-songed as he continued to rapidly tap down Grodd's helmet until it was completely covering his eyes. Grodd swung his arm out blindly in an attempt to hit the speedster. Fastman dodged it easily and just stood there with a large grin on his face.

"Where are you human?" Grodd asked to Flash, even though in the brawl he had been directed away from the speedster. Grodd pulled the helmet off of his eyes and turned around to see Flash behind him.

"You want a piece of me Chuckles?" Flash said as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Come and get it," I growled as I stood next to Fastman and we motioned tauntingly with our hands for him to come. Grodd put his helmet back on and charged at us with an irritated cry. Grodd jumped forward and tried to grab Flash, but Fastman merely dodged Grodd with his enhanced speed. Grodd stumbled and landed into the wall opposite of the computers.

The doctor said sadly, "Missile number four deactivated." I smiled; this was finally in our favor. Grodd growled again in irritation.

"I'll rip you limb to limb," he clenched his fists in a threatening manner but Flash and I just stood calmly in front of him with our arms folded behind our backs. Grodd stumbled towards us again to try to grab us but we just dodged without even moving our feet and I stuck my foot out and tripped him. With a grunt Grodd landed into the security TVs, sending sparks and a sizzling sound into the air.

"You gotta catch me first," Flash said and I laughed as we high-fived. Grodd pulled out of the TVs and continued to blindly throw punches at us, but we just as easily dodged them as we had before. The gorilla had to be seriously tired by now, not to mention annoyed. Grodd accidently punched into the controls on the computer as I escaped another one of his punches. The computer sizzled and sparked. I was surprised it still worked, considering all the damage we'd been throwing at it.

"Stand there and fight me, you simpleton," Grodd growled as he whipped around to face us. He was gasping ruggedly as he tried to gain back his breath from the exertion.

"Uh," I put my hand on my chin as if I was contemplating something before looking back at the villain. "I think not."

"Tell you what," Flash said as he mimicked my pose and acted like he was thinking. From behind me Solovar begin to wake up. Fastman pointed at Grodd and stood sassily with a hand on his hip. "You ditch the mind control helmet, I'll ditch the headband," the red clad superhero pointed to his head where the mind-control prevention headband was. We all looked shocked, but I really wasn't. This would all go to plan. Solo reached out his hand and shouted for Flash to stop. Flash put down his hands and opened them up at his sides.

"Come on, gorilla my dreams, take off the helmet," Flash pointed a finger at Grodd and, before Grodd could respond, Flash took off his headband. The speedster just smiled at Grodd as if he'd just solved the problem of world hunger. He threw down the helmet and it rattled to the ground. Grodd began to laugh dastardly.

"You're a bigger fool than I thought." Flash looked offended and pointed a finger at Grodd.

"Oh yeah, well you're…" Flash searched for a comeback for a while, but the only thing he could think of was calling the ape naked. 'Wow, for the fastest man alive, he is not too good at quick quips,' I thought as Flash just shrugged his shoulders. Then he looked back at me and Solovar before looking back at Grodd. I looked at the encounter between him and our enemy. Let's hope Fastman knows what he's doing.

"The world will miss your sparkling intellect. Goodbye Flash," Grodd said mockingly as he put his fingers on each side of the helmet and looked at us with no remorse in his eyes.

But before he could use the devise, the helmet began to short circuit and sent sparks flying all across the room. Grodd's eyes bulged as it fried his brain and he cried out in pain before crumbling to the floor unconscious. Doctor Corwin ran towards him and collapsed on the ground next to Grodd. She rested her hands on his shoulders and began to weep furiously. The doctor whipped her head back up at Flash and said, "What have you done to him?"

"Simple," Flash said as he put a hand in the air like it was obvious. "When I pushed the helmet over his head I also crossed some wires," the speedster smiled as he looked down at the distraught doctor.

"How could you?" she cried as she looked back down at Grodd. "You've destroyed the greatest mind on Earth." Doctor Corwin bent down and slowly placed her head on Grodd's shoulder as she wept. Flash walked over to the doctor and placed his hands on her shoulders.

"You'll be okay," he said. "Now that you're free from his mind control." How could he not see? It was right in front of him. The doctor looked up as Flash lifted his hands from her shoulders. She stopped sniffling and became serious.

"What are you talking about?" she asked. "He never used that on me." The doctor looked down at Grodd endearingly and rested her head back on his shoulder. "I loved him…" she ventured off and Flash looked shocked as he stood up and looked back at me.

"Internet romances huh?" He asked indifferently and I just scoffed as I poked him teasingly in the ribs. Flash just shook his shoulders and turned back around with his hands in the air. "Go figure." I smiled as I looked down at the foes we had to face today. One was out cold and the other was weeping hysterically on his shoulder. The mission was successful, but it was also long and tiring, and I was ready… I almost said to go home, I really did. But I didn't think of Zimbabwe in that moment. I thought of the Watchtower. Yeah, I was ready to go back to the Watchtower. Of course, we needed to make a small pit stop first.

We'd travelled to Gorilla City and were now standing in-front of one of their largest buildings. The city was great. It had tall concrete buildings like Central City but also had large trees and ivy growing everywhere, almost like a park, and I loved it. A large gray and brown ape with a scar over his eye was facing us. "I'm sorry we misjudged you. We can never repay you for all that you've done," he said to us.

"No biggie," Flash said as he waved it off as no big deal. The head members of the Justice League were also present and I had been told that when Green Lantern and Flash had disappeared they had decided to check into their disappearance and had been led to Gorilla City. They'd also helped bring down the missiles that almost destroyed the city. The new members included a tall raven haired woman in a red and blue leotard, a man in red and blue with a large red cape and an 's' on his chest, Martian Manhunter (who I'd met earlier in my hospital room a while back), a woman with wings and a mace, and Batman (who'd helped in my capture in Zimbabwe). I still didn't like Batman and I was pretty sure he didn't like me.

"What is going to happen to Grodd?" I spoke up, wandering what they would do to him after all the damage he'd caused to Gorilla City. Solovar began walking ahead of us and motioned for us to follow.

"I'll show you," he said and walked off to a more natural part of the city.

Grodd was in a large caged habitat with trees and a tire swig next to him. The cage looked nice, but Grodd was just sitting there with a blank expression and drool going down the side of his face. He was holding a banana in his hand and it looked like he didn't even know it was there. Although he had caused all this trouble and destruction, no one deserved this. "The feedback from his helmet almost completely wiped out his mind," Solovar said as he looked back at us.

"I almost feel bad for him" I said quietly. Even though he was evil, he was still a living animal and deserved better.

"You have my solemn word that he will receive the best of care," Solovar said as we began to walk towards Batman and Wonder Woman's jets. As they walked towards the jets Fastman began to talk to Green Lantern who walked up behind us.

"Not bad, huh?" Flash asked proudly as he looked back at the green clad hero. "I outsmarted a super genius," he said happily as he pointed to himself with his thumbs. Green Lantern continued to walk as he left Flash behind. "Guess you're not as dumb as you look."

"Yeah, and I—Hey! I resent that." He said as he ran after Green Lantern down the steps from the main building of Gorilla City. "No one makes a monkey out of me!" I just giggled as I followed behind them towards the jets.

Green Lantern and the girl with the wings and mace- Hawkgirl- decided to take to the sky. Martian Manhunter, Superman, and Wonder Woman piled in her jet while Flash and I got inside Batman's. Solovar went around and said goodbye to everyone before making his way over to me. "Thank you for your services Delmira. Please, don't hesitate to call if you need anything." I smiled and nodded my head as I hugged Solovar and we parted ways. Wonder Woman's jet took off into the sky as the hood of Batman's jet began to close and I got a last glance at Gorilla City.

The windows in Batman's jet were as black as Batman's cape, especially in the back where I had been subjected to sit. I didn't want to sit in the front, but with the look Batman gave me when I decided to ride with him, I decided not to ask. Flash and Batman were sitting in the front seats while I was in the back where there were no windows. With the darkness, the soft conversation between Batman and Fastman and the hum of the cool air-conditioning as we took off through the sky, I began to doze off to sleep in the comfortable leather seats and dream of home back in Africa.

104


	15. Chapter 14-15 Interlude

Interlude Ch. 14 &amp; 15

I guess I'm not that safe after all…

_This short chapter is themed by a song called "Unwell" by Matchbox. I would recommend listening to it while you read ;)_

I woke up to the sound of murmuring voices and the blow of the air conditioning against my neck. At first I didn't know where I was, but then I looked around and remembered. The dark jet, the cold air, and the sound of the roaring jet against the night sky were clues to me that I was in the Batwing. I stopped stretching my sore muscles when I heard Batman mutter my name. I slowly sank back into the leather seating and kept quiet.

"You never should have let her come with you," Batman's deep voice growled out. His voice was deeper than I'd remembered it and was definitely not what anyone's voice would actually sound like. Well, maybe his was. I don't know; he is Batman after all. But, that was off the subject. I closed my eyes and tried to focus my senses more on what the two heroes were saying.

"How was I supposed to know she'd gone shopping in Central City with Miss Martian? She'd already showed up at the bridge. What was I supposed to do? Send her back to the Watchtower?" Flash defended quickly. I could tell by the way that Flash spoke; it had taken a lot of courage to speak up to Batman. I appreciated the effort Flash put to speak up on my behalf.

"Yes. You were," Batman said simply and there was a thick moment of silence. What was that supposed to mean? Flash was supposed to send me back? If Flash had done so then I wouldn't have been able to help Flash and Green Lantern complete the mission. I tried to restrain a growl from my throat. If I hadn't been there, the mission might not have been completed.

There was silence for a long while, and even though I couldn't see Flash or Batman from the back of the jet, I could tell Flash was upset with Batman over what he'd said. "Wally," he said with his voice much lighter than it had been before. "She's not someone you can just make friends with. She's dangerous; you've seen the way she fights." Batman's voice began to shift back into its deep growl. "She gets a burst of emotion and she can't control herself. She's wild…" Batman's voice slowly shifted to an emotion I could only think of as anger, and silence rang back into the jet again before he spoke once more. His voice was softer than before, as if he was afraid of the words he would say. "And she's only at the Tower to get information about Green Arrow's missing brother and sister in law. That's all. You need to remember that the next time you want to bring her out in the open where she can get hurt. Or worse, hurt someone else." A single tear rolled down my cheek and landed in the palm of my hand before I even realized I was crying. I didn't even bother whipping it away. Although I'd made Green Lantern promise not to tell Fastman of the incident back in Central City, he made no promise not to tell Batman.

"But how can he think that? It is like he thinks I am some kind of animal… Did Batman not think I tried hard to control my powers? It is not always easy you know, sometimes I just loose it. It is not like I planned to lose it back in Central City, I was under a lot of pressure at the moment and I just…" I couldn't even complete my thought without crying. So I shut my eyes tight and hoped a sob wouldn't escape.

There was a moment's pause before Batman said something else. What he said was spoken lighter than he ever had before, because he didn't want to say it himself. "Do you really want the same thing that happened to Artemis to happen to her?" But before Flash could respond, I had already shut them out. I didn't want to hear any more of this. After all I'd done over the past few days, people still didn't trust me. "Dindingwe was right about humans," I thought. "They find you different and suddenly they want nothing to do with you." And with one final tear, I slipped into a sad broken sleep.

_Back in Gorilla City:_

The guard turned off the lights in the enclosure and headed back to sign out for the night. Two eyes sparkled in the blackness and a fierce growl escaped the creature behind the cage. The creature was Grodd and if you thought he was too weak to worry about, you were wrong. Grodd was still not someone to be trifled with. Leaves rustled and something sparkled in the night. Grodd pulled the sparkling device out of the leaves and pulled it to his ear. "I've met that girl you've been looking for," Grodd paused and there was a menacing grumble from the other end and the black ape continued. "I know where she's hiding."

You could tell that the voice was pleased with what it heard. "Good," the voice cackled. "Begin activating stage two."

_To be continued…_

**Author's Note: So what did everyone think? Batman doesn't trust Delmira, Flash defended Delmira, and Delmira cried! Is anyone mad at Batman? I tried to make it so people would be mad at Batman, but Bruce had some points. How will Delmira handle it? Also, what's stage two?! **

106


	16. Chapter 15 Welcome to the Team

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 15

Welcome to the Team

Whatever I was lying on was really soft and comfortable… and furry? I took in a deep breath and stretched before lifting my head up and looking around. I was back in my old room at the Tower. Someone must have placed me in here after the mission, when I fell asleep in the Batwing. I could not believe I stayed asleep. I stretched on my bed and then relaxed back on my pillow. My room looked totally different from when I saw it a few days earlier. The white curtains had been replaced with cheetah print lace curtains, the gray desk chair was replaced with the cheetah print swivel chair Courtney had picked out at a store called Ashley Furniture at the mall, and in the corner on the farthest side of the door were some orange paper lanterns. I sat up and looked down at my bed. The 'cloud' sheets had been replaced with fury cheetah print comforters and bronze colored pillows. I stretched one more time before getting up and walking over to my chest-of-drawers and desk.

Placed on my desk was a cute arrangement of little statuettes, all different shapes and sizes. Each one was of a different African animal and I picked up a small elephant statue that reminded me of Ellie before placing it back down and looking at the others. There was a cheetah statuette that had Dindingwe's eyes, a monkey statue that had Monkey's crazy hair, and a group of lion statuettes that looked like the pride of lions I lived with when I was younger.

On my chest-of-drawers was a small light blue jewelry box with a 'D' painted delicately on it. I could identify letters and numbers but nothing else. Learning to read or write hadn't been an option growing up, but at least I was able to learn my alphabet. I opened the light blue box and peered inside. Inside was a mirror on the lid, a couple of shelves and drawers, and holes on the inside of the lid for earrings. The box was empty except for a few bracelets and my Glamour charm. I closed the box again and walked towards my bathroom and turned on the light.

The bathroom looked different too. The white shower curtain was now cheetah print and there was a black rug in front of the bathtub. Besides toiletries and a black toothbrush holder and make-up bag on the sink, that was all that had changed. The towels were still white under the sink and the trash can was still white. I brushed my teeth, hair, washed my face, and straightened my mask before heading back out of the bathroom.

At the head of my bed between the two bronze pillows was a lion stuffed animal that I hadn't noticed before. I padded over to the bed, sat down and held the stuffed animal in my arms. It resembled Leon but was a cute stuffed animal, despite looking like my fierce teacher. However, I didn't remember purchasing it. "I'll have to thank M'Gann and the girls later for decorating my room." I placed Mini Leon back on his place on the bed and left my newly designed room.

I figured out the way to the cafeteria to get a bite to eat and found a man I didn't recognize sitting at a table with his face in his hands. He looked like he was contemplating something and I hesitantly made my way over to his table. I looked down at him when he didn't move from his position. He was wearing a simple open green button down and a white t-shirt, but what really stood out to me was his striking red hair. I'd never seen hair that color before and it was really pretty. I reached my hand out and was about to touch his hair but pulled my hand back and instead placed it on one of his shoulders. He jerked his head up and looked at me before his eyes transitioned into recognition. "Delmira," I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Yes. Who are you?" The man looked confused for a second and I wondered why he acted like he knew me. His body type and voice seemed familiar but I couldn't put a name to his face. The man motioned for me to sit down and I sat down across from him, wanting to keep distance between us since I still didn't know who he was. The red head looked at me for a while before a slow smile crept across his face. It was strange sitting there in silence but the man finally spoke up.

"It's me Fastman, Flash, the guy you tried to punch in the medical wing about three days ago." I blinked.

"That was only three days ago?" I asked exasperatedly and then covered my face in embarrassment. I just saw Flash for the first time without his mask and said something stupid like that. I heard Flash shuffle in his seat and I looked up to see him looking sadly at me with his eyebrows pulled forward in concentration. "Are you okay?" I asked as I leaned toward him and placed my elbows on the table. His green eyes softened and he nodded before looking back down at the table. I waited patiently for Flash to respond and when he did it came out in a mumbled 'yes'.

"Are you okay?" Fastman redirected the question as he looked intensely at me with his candy-apple green eyes. I shifted in my chair awkwardly and looked down at my lap. After everything that happened on the mission, I didn't know if I were okay. It was my first mission with the Justice League of America and I was already second guessing myself. I slowly lifted my head and looked at Flash. "I am fine. Why?"

Flash paused before answering. "I'm sorry about what happened, you know, back in Central City. I was upset when I found out Grodd had gotten to me with his mind control, but I felt even worse when I found out how I hurt you." Flash's eyes softened as he reached out to take my hand, but I pulled my hand away, remembering everything that had happened these past few days, including Batman's talk with Flash the previous night.

"It is fine," I responded as I stood up and saw Flash's hurt expression. In one swift motion he gathered me up in his arms and gave me a tight hug. He was leaning down to rest his chin on my shoulder and I placed my hands on his shoulder blades. But somehow the close proximity made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

The speedster pulled away and embarrassedly rubbed his neck as he looked down, his red hair even more tousled than before. The embarrassment slowly faded away and I faked a reassuring smile. "Goodbye Flash. I'll see you around," and I turned around to leave the cafeteria and head back to the Young Justice part of the Watchtower.

"Wally West," I stopped and turned around towards Fastman. A large smile was spread across his face and I realized how much more attractive he was when he smiled. In my confusion he repeated himself again. "My name's Wally West. People at the League call me that when we're not on missions; well at least my friends call me that. You can call me Wally, if you want to. We're friends, right?" I smiled and nodded.

"Alright, goodbye, Wally," his lips curved over in a pearly white smile once again and I took that as my leave, totally forgetting about eating breakfast.

I reached the Young Justice wing and saw a group of young people gathered by the transporters with a large screen in front of them. I walked over when I saw some familiar faces and stood next to Miss Martian and a boy with a monkey tail and green fury skin. I tried to avoid eye contact with the man in black. I didn't want to look at him after hearing what he really thought about me. He thought I was a monster. I looked forward into a hard stare at the caped crusader as he debriefed the rest of the team, but he paid no attention toward me. "If anything gets out of hand you know who to call," Batman's low and gruff voice said.

The green fury boy pumped his fist in the air as his tail whipped around wildly and he shouted, "Ghost Busters!" I began to walk forward with the others to prepare for the mission when a tall man in a black armor-like suit came towards me. He had ebony locks that reached the nape of his neck and was two inches taller than my tall 5'8. My stomach churned when his lips pulled back in a smirk and I could tell instantly who it was.

"Where are you going?" He asked with another smirk as he placed his hands on his hips and looked down at me. I looked blankly at him for a moment as I stared into the white lenses of his domino mask. Wasn't it obvious? I was going on the mission with the others. Nightwing must have read my mind because he said, "You can't go on the mission." I was so thrown by what he said I merely crossed my arms and glared at him in a standoffish manner. Why couldn't I go on missions? Did Nightwing have the same attitude towards me as Batman? I really hoped he didn't.

Nightwing reached an arm out and put a hand on my shoulder in an amiable manner which caused me to unfold my arms and release my cold glare that was pointed at him. I suddenly felt very demure at the gesture and I held my hands by my side and looked down. The tall raven haired man gestured for me to follow him to a corner of the room, away from where everyone was running about to get ready. Smirkey looked at me as he leaned against a computer keyboard very much like the ones back at the base in Central City. He crossed his arms and looked up at me before gesturing for me to sit next to him, but I remained standing and Nightwing sighed and looked towards me. I tried to cover up my unease by crossing my arms over my chest and shifting my weight to my left side.

"It's not that I don't think you won't be able to handle yourself out there," he said. "However, there are some precautions we must take before you start going out with the others. Like you'll need a suit, a code name- after all we can't just call you Delmira- and you'll need some training, and there's one more thing. I've been told by Supergirl that you can't read. Is that true?" Smirkey looked at me with a suddenly serious expression. I nodded my head, suddenly feeling timid about admitting to him that I was illiterate. That vanished soon when he gave a small grin and I realized he didn't much care of my small flaw.

"That's fine Delmira. We'll just need to find someone to teach you, and of course you'll need a costume and a teacher to train you how to fight. You know how to fight against poachers and wild animals, which is great with your background, but if you want to be a part of the league, you'll need to learn how to fight the baddies." Smirkey gave a quant laugh at my confusion which only caused me to smile. The laugh exposed a cute dimple that was on the corners of his mouth and gave him an almost boyish feature, very different from the serious person I'd categorized him as before.

Before he could tell me what "baddies" was, the boy with green skin and fur ran up to where we were and stood next to us with a large smile on his face. "Hey Nightwing! We're almost ready to ship out," Nightwing nodded before looking back at me. "Delmira, this is one of our youngest members. Beast Boy, this is Delmira, she'll be one of our newest members to the team." I looked back at Beast Boy who smiled widely at me.

"That's awesome! You'll really like it here." Beast Boy was about to say something else but someone called him over towards the transporters. He looked over towards me with his large green eyes and said it was very cool to meet me. I nodded my head and said, "and to you as well." With that said Beast Boy ran off on four legs and Nightwing got up and began walking me back to my room.

"Beast Boy seems like a good cub," I said, breaking the nice silence between us. Nightwing smiled as he placed his hands inside the pockets of his suit.

"Yeah, he is," Smirkey said as he smiled at the ground, causing his black shaggy hair to fall over his face before going back into place when he looked up. "At first I was hesitant on letting him on the team, with his young age and everything, but M'Gann quickly reminded me that I was his age when I started into this whole thing." I nodded my head, appreciative of the little insight of his past life.

"Are they related?" I asked, remembering that M'Gann had mentioned having a brother named Garfield. Smirkey nodded and looked towards me before looking back down the hallway. The smile he gave made my stomach clench and twist again, but I tried to ignore it by pulling at the hem of my jeans. "About six years ago, when the team first formed, we had to go to a country called Bialya for a mission and sought help from Garfield and his mother. One day we got attacked and Garfield got hurt and lost a pretty good amount of blood. He has a rare blood type and needed a blood transfusion, but no one in our group had that blood type to donate. M'Gann has the ability to shape shift and was able to change the construction of her blood to fit to the type Garfield needed. Around three years later, when I was taking time away from everything, I met a boy that went by the name Beast Boy. Beast Boy was the same age Garfield would be and something about that kid reminded me of him. We formed a team called the Teen Titans and after about a year I came to find out Beast Boy's name was Garfield and they were one and the same." I was so inaugurated in Nightwing's story; I hadn't even noticed we were almost to my living quarters.

"When The Team was starting to form again and I came back, I brought Beast Boy along with me. He was so excited to see M'Gann again after so many years he'd almost begged me to let him tag along. Miss Martian and he are pretty close and usually refer to each other as 'blood siblings.'" The story of Garfield was really interesting and about how he became a member of Young Justice, and it was nice that Nightwing was telling me his story so openly. I was still curious about one more thing though. If M'Gann changed her genetic code on that blood type like the man walking next to me said, shouldn't Garfield be the average American boy he was when they first met? I wanted to ask the question, but Nightwing had already told me so much, I didn't want to seem like I was prying. After all, Nightwing barely knew anything about me but he must have been able to tell that I had something on my mind. "What is it Del? You look like you have something on your mind." As he said this, the area on his mask where his eyebrows should be pulled forward, as if he was trying to read my mind merely by looking at me. I barked up the courage to ask him my question. Instead of hearing a scolding like I expected, Nightwing merely gave a small smile. "Maybe I should start calling him Smiles, instead of Smirkey, yes?" I thought before focusing my attention back on Nightwing.

"Delmira, if you ever have a question, just ask," Nightwing said and I nodded my head in understanding. I appreciated knowing from him that it was okay to ask questions, no matter how stupid they seemed. "After we left," he continued. "Garfield's genes started to mutate to fit into the genetic code of M'Gann's and his skin began to turn green and he picked up a few abilities of M'Gann's. M'Gann can shape shift, and like her, Beast Boy can shift into any animal of his choosing." Nightwing laughed at my awed expression. "Well, except he's green. So he doesn't camouflage well into other animals, but it's still a very cool ability to have. But anyway, after they'd been reunited again, Beast Boy became a part of the Team and the rest is history." I hadn't realized how alike Beast Boy and I were until hearing all that Nightwing had to say about him. Beast Boy was a vegetarian like me and was like this because of his abilities and his morals. Beast Boy also has abilities similar to my own. After everything was said, I was excited to meet Beast Boy again and hopefully become his friend.

Just after Nightwing finished we reached my door. I turned back at Nightwing and smiled, thankful that he volunteered to walk me back without me having to ask him. The hallway was completely vacant besides the two of us and I guessed that everyone else in the Young Justice league was on a mission. I tried to think of something else to say, not ready to depart with the dark haired hero yet. Before I could think of something to say he began to leave, saying he'd see me soon. "Wait," said I as I reached my arm out, my voice a little uncertain and slightly quieter than it usually was. I looked down at the floor, my arm sliding back down to my side. A small blush reached my cheekbones when I noticed Nightwing look back at me with a surprised expression.

I looked up, suddenly thinking of something to say. "You said that I'd have a teacher for education and a teacher for combat training. Do you know who that will be?" Nightwing gave a soft laugh as he turned fully to face me and took a step forward. The closer proximity made me feel nervous, but not in the way I expected. My chest clenched and suddenly I felt unsteady. It was the feeling of adrenaline you might get before you travel on a large roller coaster you've never ridden on before, and I wasn't sure if I liked the feeling or not. I couldn't tell if Nightwing knew how I felt but a small smile reached his face and I thought I saw his cheeks grow a little peachier than they already were. But that thought was destroyed and I felt suddenly dubious when his smile disappeared and he took a bigger step back than the step that was taken forward and I felt suddenly cold, the euphoric feeling I felt before gone.

"You'll find out who your teachers are tomorrow," Nightwing said. I nodded; just hopeful that one of them was not Batman. Everyone I met in my time here I seemed to like, except him. I was almost hoping I wouldn't see very much more of him since he was an important member to the Justice League. "Will I like them?" I asked, hoping he said yes but he just laughed and shook his head, saying he hoped so. Well that I took acquiescently.

Nightwing took another step forward before shifting around me and opening the door to my room, the upset he gave my heart quickly fading away. "You should probably get some rest. You woke up late today but you'll have to get up bright and early tomorrow for your training." I nodded my head and we said our goodbyes and I stepped into my room, about to close the door. Then I heard Nightwing speak up again. "Hmm?" I mumbled, asking him to repeat what he said.

"Welcome to the Team," He whispered, his voice causing a shiver to go down my spine and a wan smile to appear on my lips. Nightwing began walking back down the hallway and I closed the door to my room behind me. Once inside I sighed and leaned against the door.

"Welcome to the Team indeed," I breathed as a quant smile reached my lips. Maybe living here wouldn't be so bad after all.

**Author's Note: So Delmira hates Batman as much as ever, and doesn't want to see him, like, ever. But if Batman isn't her combat trainer, who is? So this was a bit of a filler chapter, but some vital things still happened! Wally was unmasked, but the tension between DelFlash is thicker than ever along with some Nightmira interaction as well! Please, share your thoughts and opinions by clicking the Review button down below. Thanks **

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	17. Chapter 16 Wake Up Call

Ch. 16 The Girl of the Wild

Wake Up Call

It was so dark, so very dark and all I could think about was running. It seemed like I had been running forever and I didn't even know why or remember when the running had started. All I could remember is that if I stopped, it would be the end for me. The place around me was filled with blacks, grays, and blues. They were hideous colors that, added together, formed figures and faces of things that dwelled in nightmares.

My breathing was rugged, my legs were weak and I could barely see what was in-front of me. A flash of light painted the night sky and what I saw scared me. A large figure was standing in front of me with a twisted expression and a dark scowl. It was the man with the scar. "What… what are you doing here?" My voice wavered and the man simply smiled a sick sinister smile. A crash of thunder caused my heart to jerk in an uneven pattern and I fell, scraping my knee on the ground. I rolled over onto my back and sat up. The man was gone. I clasped my knee in pain. Little strings of tingling pain came from the scrape on my knee and lead down to my toes as streaks of blood slowly trickled down. I wasn't healing. Why wasn't I healing?

A loud bang sounded and I jerked my head around. My eyes widened as fear began creeping down into my soul. The banging sounded again, this time louder and it continued until everything became bleary and the harsh blues, grays, and blacks began to fade slowly away into just one dark color. Everything became quiet, except for the harsh sound of the banging. Before that all faded into inexistence, I heard one single line, "This isn't over, filth."

The black began to fade into a scene that I was familiar with, but the pounding remained constant. My eyes fluttered open and I noticed I was still in my room at the Watchtower. What I'd envisioned had just been one of my crazy dreams. My comfortable bed was calling me back to sleep and I pulled my comforter further up to my face. I was almost back into the sweet abyss of sleep when the pounding started again and my eyes popped open. I stumbled out of bed with stiff limbs, a groggy head, and tired eyes, and I practically limped towards the door.

With my mask firmly on and straightened, the door was opened and a bright light streamed in. Squinting, I looked up to see Nightwing standing in front of me with a concerned look on his face. "Uh, can I help you?" I asked, my voice sounding croaky from sleep. Nightwing narrowed his eyes as he looked closely at me. "I called for you for a while and began banging on the door. When you didn't answer I even considered kicking down the door and rushing in there to see if you were okay." I looked down at my feet to try to cover up my embarrassment. As I absorbed the details of my toe nails, I wondered about the large amount of concern my friend showed for me. During my reverie, he asked why I hadn't answered, which I just shrugged off as being a deep sleeper. But that was a lie, never did I ever sleep deeply, but I was glad Nightwing had woken me up from that lurid vision.

There was a pregnant pause with Nightwing standing in the door way and me looking down at my feet before he spoke again. "I'll be introducing you to your new teachers today; 15 minutes to get ready." I nodded my head with furrowed brows and shut the door, not realizing how rude it probably was for someone to have a door closed in their face. As I was getting ready, I didn't realize that Nightwing was standing in the doorway of my closed room waiting awkwardly as people came by and gave him interesting looks as to why he was standing in-front of the girls living quarters.

About sixteen minutes later- yes, Nightwing was keeping tabs- I came out with fresh showered hair, a new outfit, and a minty fresh smile. The door was closed and we began walking down the hallway before Nightwing spoke up. "Are you alright?" he asked, his voice with a concern so well hidden that someone who didn't know him well enough wouldn't have noticed. I hadn't noticed.

"Yes," I mumbled as I cleared by throat and looked around the hallway, avoiding looking at Nightwing. I didn't want to tell him about how embarrassed I was that he had been the one to wake me up from my nightmare, or that I constantly had these visions and had no idea why they kept happening. I didn't want him to know how frightened I was.

After walking around for a while, we made it to the large door that separated Young Justice from the rest of the League. Nightwing opened the door for me and as I passed him I noticed the mask of emotions that he'd placed on himself. Whatever he was feeling was unreadable and I began to wonder what I had done to cause him to act like that. I didn't notice his eyes follow me as I passed him. Once we cleared the door way I turned around and smiled at this tall, dark haired man. "Why did you wake me up so early Smirkey? Do you have nothing better to do than to bother the poor girl from Zimbabwe?" My voice seemed harsh but I tried to smooth it over with a smile. The emotion of shock seeped through his mask before he realized that I had been joking and his lips curved into a meek side smile.

"You said I could ask any question," I said with a smile as we walked down the hallway. Nightwing laughed a strong youthful laugh that caused my heart beat to flutter and a light bubbling feeling to erupt in my stomach. I cleared my throat and tried to push down the feeling as we made our way into the Watchtower's cafeteria.

Nightwing made his way up to the counter to order something while I sat down at a table where Wally had been sitting the day before, adjacent between where Nightwing was standing and the door. I looked and saw Nightwing heading over towards me with a large grin on his face and a monstrous amount of food on the cafeteria tray he was carrying. He made his way over to our table and expertly balanced the tray on one hand and pulled a chair out and sat down across from me with his back to the entrance. I thought the food had been for him, until he slowly pushed it towards me, the steam coming off of the pancakes and floating into the air to create a sweet smell that caused my mouth to water. The whole thing had been piled with the works. The maple syrup drizzled across the golden surface of the pancakes as the butter glistened and began to melt. Off to the side were a handful of blue berries, half of a banana and a glass of orange juice.

I looked up hesitantly towards the man who'd given me the breakfast and saw him merely gesture for me to eat. Carefully picking up my fork and knife, I began to cut through the fluffy goodness, smiling when I remembered how M'Gann had chastised me into learning how to eat with utensils. She said it was impolite to eat with your hands. I said it was a matter of opinion.

After a few blueberries and shovels of pancake in my mouth, I took a large swallow of orange juice and looked back at Nightwing. He was waiting patiently for me to finish and I slightly blushed, realizing the lack of table manners I'd been showing. I was so hungry I had all but forgotten them. M'Gann would be ashamed. "They taste better with the blueberries." I looked up at Nightwing and tried to speak a 'what' with a mouth full of banana. He smiled at me and pointed a finger at my plate.

"The pancakes, I think they taste better eaten with blueberries." I looked down at my plate and cut up a piece of pancake, putting a couple of blueberries with it before shoveling it into my mouth. I smiled as the two flavors combined and exploded in my mouth. I nodded at Nightwing enthusiastically as I ate more of this delicious new combination.

We began talking about anything and everything. Nightwing said he chose my breakfast based on hearing from me that I was a vegetarian and M'Gann had said I was very into the pancakes she'd made the following morning. I was surprised to hear that he was actually paying attention. Then we began talking about the things I did and didn't eat. I didn't eat any meats, but I did drink milk and eat milk products, since no one came to harm to get the milk. Nightwing nodded his head and slightly shuffled in his chair, as if he was trying to remember everything that I said.

"What about you?" I asked as I sipped my orange juice and saw Nightwing give a surprised expression.

"What about me?" He asked.

"Yeah, what about you, you aren't a vegetarian are you?" Nightwing scoffed and looked down at his hands that were clasped on the table. I smiled and poked my remaining bits of pancake before putting them into my mouth, but there was something pushing in the back of my mind. Nightwing was asking me so many questions and was learning so much about me, but I knew nothing about him. Nightwing's expression turned blank before he leaned across the table and looked around the room suspiciously before whispering to me, "But sometimes I like to put chocolate milk in my cereal."

I smiled and got up to put my dishes on the counter. One of the workers smiled at me before taking the dishes and putting them in the back to get washed. Nightwing got up from the table and we walked out. "Usually you need to wait at least three hours after eating before exercising, so you'll meet your teacher and then go to the Young Justice training room and your training will begin." I stopped our walking and looked towards him with bewildered eyes. Wasn't he coming with me? "You just need to go down this hallway, make a left and the fourth door on the right will be a small conference room. Your teacher should be in there." After that was said, Nightwing left me and began walking in the opposite direction. With a deep intake of air, I gripped my hands into fists and walked down the hallway.

After thinking through it, it made sense that Nightwing would leave me alone to meet my teachers. He didn't need to walk me there like a mother does with her child on the first day of school, and he probably had more important things to do. I rounded the corner and began looking on the right side of the wall for the fourth door where I would meet my academics instructor. I peered inside and saw a man with a silver helmet and shining gold armor with a red vest with a black bird crest on it and a sword sheath at his side. He sat with his hands folded at a desk and waiting patiently for me. I opened the door before smiling shyly and walking towards the table. The man stood up and I was able to take in more of his features. He was in his late twenties, had a stern face, furrowed brows, and was well built. He had broad shoulders and a wide chest and looked very intimidating at first look. After further inspection, I saw a sparkle in his dark eyes and realized he must be a kind man.

The knight pulled his arm from his side and pushed his hand towards me. I placed my hand in his and expected a firm handshake, but he pulled my hand towards his face and bent down to touch my hand to his lips in greeting. A blush reached my cheeks and the knight let go of my hand before bowing. "Sir Justin," he said as he rose to face me. "I am going to be your mentor. You must be Delmira." I nodded my head and Sir Justin gestured for me to sit down.

As we sat down, I noticed that the knight had a European accent and talked like he was from a different time. Sir Justin folded his hands together and looked at me. "Well, let us get straight down to it. What is it that thou know?" I felt suddenly nervous about speaking. "Doeth not be nervous. T'is no judgment in my classroom." The knight smiled and gestured around the conference room. A quick smile reached my face and the nervousness began to die away at his jesting. I told him what I knew, the names of basic letters and numbers. "I know it is not much, but…" Sir Justin silenced me with a wave of his hand and a shake of his head.

"Doeth not soundeth so asham'd mine dear. That is something to knoweth and ye are v'ry lucky thou knoweth them. Some po'r souls don't yea knoweth those." I smiled and was happy my teacher was not upset with having to start from the very basics. The remainder of the time we talked of our lives. Sir Justin had been a great knight in his day and served a king named Arthur who lived in a land named Camelot. He told me great stories of sword fights and ogre wars, of great feasts and dances. I wanted him to tell me more but he merely shook his head and told me it was for another time. We stood up and Sir Justin walked me towards the door.

"We will hast a three hour lesson each day starting at approximately 9 am and finishing at noon. That shouldst giveth thou plenty of the rest of the day f'r whatev'r thou might needeth to do, liketh thy combat lessons." Sir Justin paused and thought for a moment. "Homework will not be heavy, but thither shouldst be some, depending on what we're learning and if you've miss'd lessons." He said and placed a kind hand on my shoulder. "Now off with you, I will see thou tomorrow morning." I nodded and left towards the training facility, Sir Justin closing the door quietly behind me.

I pushed open the large door of the facility and walked into the training room. A large mat was placed on the floor with a couple of water bottles and towels to the side. I placed my hands on my hips and looked around before walking over to the mat. My fighting teacher was nowhere in sight and the silence was only heightening my nervousness. I sat down on the mat and waited. My mind had drifted to other subjects as I stared down at the blue mat, but the eerie feeling of being watched began to creep up my back and caused me to shiver.

Before I could turn around large hands grabbed my shoulders tightly and my nervousness quickly switched to fear as a high pitched scream I didn't even know I could make erupted from my throat. My body swiveled up and I pulled my hands out in front of my face to attack and defend myself, but then I saw who had jumped me. My hands dropped down to my side and there stood Nightwing. It was strange and almost shocking seeing him outside of his uniform. He wore a pair of gray sweats and a tight fitting blue shirt. His shoulders were pronounced, his chest large and chiseled, and his shoulders were wide with strength. It wasn't difficult to realize he was strong, but it was even more known when he was out of that thick armor. I would have blushed if I hadn't been so angry with him. "Chii gehena!" I yelled as I punched him in the shoulder. Nightwing raised his eyebrows under his mask at my use of language. In my anger, it escaped my mind that he had been learning Shona.

"What does that mean Delmira?" He asked, as he quirked his eyebrows and leaned towards me with a smile bursting with laughter. I punched him again in the arm as hard as I could and tried to resist shaking my hand from the pain. "You scared the crap out of me! I could have clawed your eyes out!" Nightwing's smile dropped as he walked towards the middle of the mat and I turned to face him.

"You need to always be vigilant so stuff like that won't happen to you. Don't be so jumpy either; be ready to attack at any moment, but don't be so wound up that you can't think right. Acting on emotions can help you, but it can also be your greatest downfall." I was going to argue with him about how I didn't think to have to be on alert when at the Watch Tower when apparently to Batman I wasn't even allowed to breath without his permission. But I thought better of it when Nightwing stared back at me with a critical eye. "So what are you doing here?" I asked as I leaned my weight on my left leg and put my hand on my hip.

Nightwing was putting wraps on his hands but stopped to look at me. "I'm here to teach you how to fight," he said, as if it was obvious. My eyes widened and I suddenly felt queasy. Nightwing was going to be my fighting teacher. Why had he not told me last night? He finished wrapping up his hands and extended his hand for me to take the wrappings. I delicately took the roll and began wrapping my hands like he had done. Once done I put my feet shoulder width apart and prepared my mind to learn.

Nightwing took a step towards me and took my arm. He touched the inside of my arm with the tips of his fingers, causing a feeling of static to trail down my arm. He looked down at me. "This is the softest part of your arm, and if you hit it just right it'll go limp and be made incapable of movement. When throwing a punch…" Nightwing pulled my arm into a swinging motion, like I was going to throw a punch. He then stepped with his opposite foot and lightly struck the inside of my arm. "This part of your arm is open for attack. The most durable part of your arm…" Nightwing grabbed the same arm he had before and ran his fingers down the outer line of my arm. "If you get hit on this part, not much damage will come to you."

We began to practice the simple defense movement. Nightwing would throw a slow, gentle punch and I would take a step with the opposite foot and strike with the outer line of my arm. We repeated this motion, each step getting faster and once that was mastered we started learning a new move.

We worked mostly on defense, but did work a little on offense. By the end of it I was exhausted and my muscles began to ache. I was out of breath and my mask began to dampen with sweat. There was no doubt that my face was flushed. I gasped a breath of fresh air; my chest felt like it was burning. Nightwing swung another arm out and I tried my best to block it but he took another step towards me and I fell. I landed on the mat with a thud and looked up at Nightwing, my chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. He barely looked like he'd lifted a finger, let alone fought me for the past hour and a half!

Nightwing stood at my feet and offered me a hand, which I took. As I stood facing Nightwing I gave a breathy laugh. "First you want to wake me up early and now you are beating on me?" Nightwing chuckled and placed his calloused hand on my shoulder before walking over to the bench by the mat. He sat down and I walked over to sit next to him. He handed me a towel and water bottle, which I greatly accepted with a nod of my head. As I gurgled down the water I saw Nightwing glance at me before speaking. "You did well today."

Pulling the water bottle from my lips I looked at him. Nightwing looked away from his hands and up at me. The white lenses of his masked eyes met with my blue eyes. The vibrant green in my eyes glowed when our eyes connected. Before I could wonder about the color of his eyes, he moved from his position and straightened up. We broke eye contact and I heard him clear his throat. "If you consider being slammed against the mat about four times within five minutes a good job, then yeah. I did fantastic." This thick air that had surrounded us dissipated with his chuckle and I smiled.

"Most people wouldn't have even lasted that long," he said with a broad smile as he stood up from the bench and walked to a rack that was off to the side. As he began taking off the wraps on his hands I got up and walked over to him. He placed them on the table as I began unwrapping my hands.

"Prideful much?" I asked as I finished what was left of my water bottle and threw it in the recycle bin. Nightwing looked over at me and leaned forward. "Very," he whispered gruffly in my ear, causing a shiver to run down my spine. Before I could respond Nightwing leaned away from me and continued to sort the weights and weapons on the rack.

"Well, I should probably head out, important superhero business and everything," And with that said Nightwing walked away from me, closing the door gently behind him. I would have laughed at his playfulness, but I was too dazed to respond.

**Author's Note: So Delmira had another dream about the horrible man with the scar and couldn't wake up! And Nightwing had to wake her up! And And… they're so cute! What did you think of their cuteness? Are you mad Wally wasn't in this chapter? How will he take it when he finds out Delmira and Nightwing are hanging together? Or that Nightwing's her combat teacher? Did you think it would be anyone else? What'd you think of Shining Knight? Did I portray him correctly? What did you think about the encounter between Nightwing and Delmira while they were practicing? Many questions to answer so, please, comment your thoughts below. **

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	18. Chapter 17 A Lesson from a Vixen

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 17

A Lesson from a Vixen

The schedule I had at the Watchtower went the same for many weeks. My alarm would sound at the same time every day; I would wake up and eat at the cafeteria. Then I would meet Sir Justin for my lesson that would end at noon as promised and, finally, I would have the combat lesson with Nightwing. I'd learned a lot from my teachers in those weeks and Sir Justin told me I was a fast learner, but I didn't receive that compliment from Nightwing. After my combat lesson I would have a light lunch and finish my homework. On rare occasions Nightwing would join me or I would see Sir Justin if we had more to discuss that day. Then for dinner I would eat with M'Gann and the rest of the Team, unless they had a mission to be at. On those days my evening would be lonely.

I didn't want to eat alone in the cafeteria, so I would take my food and eat it in the room, often reading the small books Sir Justin assigned me to read. But, more often than not, I would neglect my food and drift off into my thoughts. I would think of the land back in Zimbabwe. I would imagine how different things would be if I was still there and how different things must be now. But today was different.

I was sitting at my window seat with my food in my lap, slowly mixing mashed-potatoes and peas together with my fork absentmindedly. I heard a soft knock at the door and looked up with surprise. No one visited me, especially with these past few weeks being so boring. I unfolded my legs and got up. Placing my food tray on my desk, I pulled on a large sweat shirt that covered my bear arms and placed on my mask. Opening the door I saw an African woman in her early thirties standing before me. She had her black hair styled in a pixie cut and her eyes were a strange amber color that contained the animal feature that my eyes did. What caught my attention the most was the talisman that she was wearing made out of animal teeth, with a palm sized piece of bone carved into a fox's face. I felt drawn to the necklace, and something told me it held a great power. The woman looked at me with a queer eye before seizing me up as no danger and putting her hand out towards me. I looked down at her hand before clasping it and giving her hand a firm shake. Sir Justin had taught me that shaking someone's hand was a sign of trust, friendship, agreement… or just a simple way to say hello.

She smiled and as our hands dropped she told me her name was Vixen. "My name is Delmira," I said. The woman nodded and told me that she knew. Before I could question her further she told me that she was here to take me to get fitted for a uniform. I was shocked that they actually had a place to repair and make superhero regalia, but it made sense. With all the damage and tares the uniforms would take in battle, they would need to be mended or replaced by a professional. Vixen began talking to me as we walked down the hallway. "I've heard a lot about you, Delmira," she said and I looked towards her.

"All good things, I hope," I said in a light hearted manner, but it worried me when she didn't respond. "So I hear you are able to use the abilities of animals whenever you need them and you can communicate with them. Along with your cat-like reflexes and animal senses, I say those are some pretty powerful abilities." I nodded my head. Those were some pretty incredible powers, but they had limits.

"Those rumors are true, but I wouldn't say they're as powerful as they seem," I told her. "They're helpful and I'm grateful to have them, but they have limitations. I have limitations." I was ready to stop, but Vixen inclined her head towards me in fascination, so I continued. I told her that my powers only lasted for a short amount of time and that I could only call upon the abilities of certain animals. They had to be animals that I met and they had to be African and the same applied to speaking with them. I could also override the natural predator/prey instinct found in most animals, but with my recent encounters with wild animals, that seemed to be false.

I knew the things I told Vixen would spread and be reported back to Batman, even if I had her promise not to tell anyone, but I didn't care. "Let them know," I thought. "I'm not ashamed of who I am, of **what** I am." It had been over a month since I was taken here in early August, and during that time I had realized I shouldn't be ashamed of who I was, no matter what anyone thought of me. And if Batman thought I was some kind of monster who needed to be kept away from the world and controlled, then so be it.

During this time, Vixen had been sharing her abilities with me and I had faintly picked up her saying that our abilities were similar. We both were able to harness the abilities of other animals, but she was able to draw upon the abilities of any animal that has ever lived on the planet, not just the ones from Africa. She was able to hold the morphogenetic traits of multiple animals at once and was even able to use the abilities of extinct animals, domestic animals, and even mystical animals. The more I heard of her powers, the more jealous I got. It seemed that her abilities were stronger than mine, and she was even able to transform into animals if she wanted to. I almost told her to stop talking, but stopped when I heard her say something about it being hard to control. "What did you say?" I asked. Vixen started to tell me about how her powers came from her talisman and mine was inborn. I wasn't so sure about that, but since I didn't have memory of ever getting my power, I guess it was true.

"No not that!" I told her as I shook my hands in front of me to get her to stop. "About the control, what did you say about the control?" Vixen nodded her head once and gave out an 'oh' in understanding. "I said that a drawback of my powers is that I'm not always able to control the inputs from the morphogenetic field- the source of my power," she added when she saw my confusion. "Sometimes, I absorb unwanted animal behavior, such as instinctive rage. The longer I stay in contact with the morphogenetic field, the less human and more animal I seem to become." That got my attention. So, I wasn't the only one who had a hard time controlling their abilities.

"What do you do? How do you get yourself to calm down when you're out of control?" I enquired as I turned my head towards her. She was about an inch taller than me and it felt weird to look another female in the eye without having to bend down. Vixen was able to detect my sudden interest and she stopped to look at me before continuing to walk down the corridor. "Green Lantern told me that you've been having a difficult time controlling you're abilities. That sometimes your power can overpower you and you can forget where you are or who you're with. To control it you just need to think about someone you love, someone you care about, someone who you could never imagine hurting. You do that and you'll be able to come back from the fog," She said sassily as we rounded another corner. But then her whole demeanor changed when she looked away from me. "That one significant person brought me back multiple times." I stared back at her, trying to figure out who that one person was, but then I remembered the way she had said Green Lantern's name. I remembered the way her eyes glowed with a mysterious spark and a wistful smile ghosted across her face when she thought about him.

"Wait. Are you too- were you too…" Vixen smiled as she looked back at me with a blank face before responding. "Together?" she gave an airy laugh before her face turned serious again. "We were but… love can be complicated." I nodded my head. I didn't need someone to tell me that. I already knew.

We final reached the uniform designer's and stopped. "It was nice talking to you Delmira, but I have to go. I hope to see you again," I nodded to her and gave a polite smile. "Maybe we will," I said. "Once I get my uniform ready, we might have a mission assigned together." Vixen smiled and left. As I walked inside to get measured I wondered about Vixen. She seemed to be a nice woman, but with such a close similarity between us, I knew that if we were assigned a mission together it wouldn't go well. We were both headstrong women with similar abilities, but the biggest part was that we were both woman with problems in controlling our powers, and that scared me the most.

**Author's Note: So, a pretty short chapter and not much happened, but all my chapters have a reason for being written. Delmira's feeling homesick. Poor "Cheetah Girl!" LOL. Anyway, Delmira met Vixen and realized that she's not the only one who has a hard time controlling her powers. Vixen's reason was because of the source of her power and over using it. What about Delmira? At least Vixen gave her some tips on how to control them, but who's that special person that she would need to think about? And how does she already know that love can be complicated? Comment who you think it might be by pressing the Review button down below if you please. Also, Delmira's getting an official superhero uniform! How exciting. **

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	19. Chapter 18 Body Language and the English

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 18

Body Language and the English Language

I was lying outstretched on the couch in the Young Justice unit of the Watchtower watching old Disney movies. Sir Justin was on a mission that day as Shining Knight, and had assigned me to catch up on my pop culture, so he'd given me a bunch of movies to watch. Many of the movies I was able to relate to. Aladdin reminded me of the life I had in the city, and Tarzan reminded me of what happened to my childhood, which made me wonder if my parents really did love me. Did they really die in the vision I dreamed about? The last movie I watched was Lion King, and the characters in the film reminded me of my family in Zimbabwe. Simba's mother reminded me of Dindingwe and Mufasa reminded me of Leon. I was enjoying the movie, until Mufasa died and I began to cry. I couldn't imagine what would happen if Leon was gone, so I turned off the DVD player and focused on other assignments.

Currently, I was curled up on the couch in the den of Young Justice reading up on English grammar and noticed someone walk behind the couch. I looked up from my book and saw Nightwing standing in-front of me. "What're you working on?" he asked as he inclined his head towards my papers. I told him about my recent assignments while Shining Knight was away and how confused I was with the English language. "Okay, there's this one thing about my lessons with Shining Knight. If something like disabled is the opposite of abled… Is tressed the opposite of distressed… or aster the opposite of disaster?" Nightwing chuckled and a smile graced my lips. I thought it was a serious question, but I took no offense to his laugh. By now I had become accustomed to people laughing. It was a very human thing to do.

"And people are overwhelmed and underwhelmed. Why is no one just whelmed? The English language is so… difficult," I growled. Nightwing smiled and plopped himself next to me on the couch. His arms were draped across the side and his feet were resting comfortably on the table. I wasn't about to tell him that it was bad manners. Personally, I didn't mind, but Sir Justin had informed me in adequate last week and said it was. I turned my head back to my textbook and began reading again. Nightwing leaned over and made me nervous as he looked at my notes. "Nice writing," he commented. I smiled and thanked him politely, my voice coming out timidly. It wasn't as nice as Sir Justin's was, but it was getting there and Sir Justin said that everyone's handwriting was different. It was silent again as Nightwing leaned back into the couch.

A few more minutes passed and I let my eyes wander towards Nightwing who was looking down at his hands in thought. He looked up at me and my eyes met his masked ones. I turned my eyes swiftly back to my book, but didn't read. Oh how I wondered what color his eyes really were. Nightwing was still looking at me when I cleared my throat. "How old are you?" I asked, still looking down at my book. "What?" he asked and I looked up to see his shocked face. I gave a small laugh. I suppose that would be a strange question to ask out of the blue, so I explained.

"Shining Knight has been teaching me about the stages of human life and its span. I was merely wondering the age you might be. I'm sorry if it came out as impolite." Nightwing smiled at me before shaking his head. "I'm nineteen," he said. "How old are you?" He asked innocently, but there was a trace in his voice that I could not understand. It sounded like he was interested, and that confused me.

"I don't know how old I am, but based on what I've learned and the length of my memory, I would say that I'm around your age. Or perhaps I'm a little bit older." Nightwing gave me a queer look and his eyebrows pulled together in question. It probably sounded strange to him that I didn't know how old I was, so I decided not to tell him that I didn't know when my birthday was. I wish I knew, but since I didn't, I tried not to dwell on it.

There was another pregnant pause between us, and it was driving me crazy. Snapping my heavy textbook closed angrily, I looked towards him. I was about to suggest doing something else instead of just sitting here, only for Nightwing to talk right over me. We stopped talking and I put a hand out to silence him and then put it down. "Please," I said and smiled. "What were you going to say?"

Nightwing smiled, "I was going to propose going ahead and having our combat lesson today since Sir Justin is away." I agreed and we got up and walked towards the training center. Luckily, I didn't have to change because I was already wearing a half-zip pullover with thumb holes and stirrup leggings, which was normally what I wore for exercising. The outfit could get hot at times, but it covered my burns and scars, so it was sufficient. I slipped on my black ballet flats and followed Nightwing's tall figure. Based on my teaching with Sir Justin on the metric system, Nightwing was 1.78 meters, or if you wanted to measure it in US customary units it would be five feet and ten inches. I had been measured when I first arrived to the Watchtower and Sir Justin told me that I was 5'8 and considered tall for an average girl my age- whatever age that was. Nightwing and I, in my opinion, were the perfect height for each other. I scoffed at my stupid, stray thoughts and thanked Nightwing as he opened the door for me.

The two of us had barely seen each other outside of our fighting lessons, so today was nice. I'd graduated from the plain blue mats in the exercise room and now we were training where the other members of the Team practiced. We stepped onto an electronic floor and the floor glowed as the machine rang out our names. "Nightwing: B01, Delmira: Guest, C04." I readied my fighting stance like Nightwing had taught me; fists in front of my face and feet shoulder width apart for a strong foothold. My raven haired instructor gave me his signature smolder before duplicating my stance and charging towards me. I waited until he was close enough to grab me before I twisted my body and pushed him away as he passed me. He staggered for a bit before he turned around and ran at me again, his childish mirth now gone from his face. As we danced across the mat I took notice of that.

Nightwing was a different person on the battle field than he was anywhere else. He got his "battle face" -as I like to call it- on and it made him look a lot older than he actually was. He may have only been nineteen, but when faced with a serious situation, he looked much older. I found this just as illecebrous as his other features.

I could tell Nightwing knew I was starting to get impatient with this simple game of cat and mouse and he caught me off guard when he grabbed my arm and pulled it behind my back. He'd anticipated me shoving him again when he passed me and had used that to his advantage. Now he was behind me, pulling me close to him and twisting my left arm behind my back. He held my right arm to the side so that I couldn't throw a punch at him. I struggled to get out of his grip, but without my elephant strength I was weaker than him. I thought about cheating and calling upon it, but Nightwing had a strict rule on not using powers during lessons. "I want you to learn how to fight without your powers, in case one day you can't use them." He always said that when I complained. It was logical, but it still sucked. Besides, even if I wanted to, it was impossible to focus right now with the increased pressure he was giving my shoulder. I winced and gritted my teeth as I tried to wiggle out of the lock.

"Remember," he said huskily as his warm breath tickled my ear, causing me to shiver. "Keep your eyes open, feet ready, and heartbeat steady. You need to be able to focus and adapt to the fight in a moment's notice." My heartbeat was definitely not steady and my stomach felt like it was in knots. Usually, this didn't happen during our mock combat but on the occasion it did, I usually left the room in a sort of unfocused state. Nightwing loosened his hold on my arm and I felt the pressure on my shoulder begin to lift. My shoulder would unquestionably need ice later. On normal instances Nightwing would have released me by now, but this time he didn't. My heartbeat sped up and it got quiet. The pressure was almost gone from my shoulder and I felt Nightwing's calloused fingertips spread small goosebumps down my arm as his hand made its way down to mine. My breath hitched as the touch sent sparks to my thumping heart, but before anymore could happen I heard the door click open and the voices of the Team enter the room.

Their chattering voices stopped simultaneously and before anyone could make a comment, Nightwing released me and spun me a few steps away from him. I clear my throat and look up at them. My head felt dizzy. "How was the mission?" I said, trying to cover up the odd situation and slow my racing heart. They all just stared back at me with shocked expressions as I tried to catch my breath and I tugged at the ends of my blonde hair nervously. I would need a haircut soon. I pulled the hair tie from my wrist and began to fumble my hair into a messy braid. "_M'Gann_…" I silently pleaded in the telepathic connection we had.

"Right, well…" she said aloud, trying to break the silence but failing as much as I had. Kid Flash ignored her attempt and sped towards me, sticking his nose up at me as I finished with my hair. "What were YOU guys doing?" he interrogated as he swayed his eyebrows in a teasing manner and stepped closer to me. His hot breath smelled like Cheetos and the close proximity was suffocating. He had a skeptical eye and I remembered from my encounter before that he had a lack of personal boundaries. I cleared my throat and pushed him away from me, but it didn't do much. Kid Flash leaned towards me again.

Blue Beetle, a young Hispanic boy in his late-teens, with the name of Jamie, stepped toward us and put a hand on the youngest speedster's shoulder. "Leave her alone hermano," he said as he pulled Bart towards another room. Jamie looked over his shoulder at me and I mouthed a thank you. He smiled in welcome before turning back around and leading Bart away from the training center, most likely to get some food.

The rest of the team departed in small spurts, each giving me a skeptical eye before leaving. By the end of the whole debacle my cheeks were burning from embarrassment, and I was once again thankful that I wore the cheetah mask to hide my blush. La'gann made a vulgar comment about animals in heat and I glared at him, only for him to scoff and walk off toward his room. I burned a glare into the back of his head as he left and I went off to ice my shoulder. I hadn't noticed M'Gann and Aqualad had stayed to talk with Nightwing.

**Author's note: Well that got heated ;) hahahaha. Too soon? Anyway, hope you Nightmira shippers enjoyed the epic overload of ship action and don't worry Delflash shippers. He's in the next one. **

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	20. Chapter 19 Things Change

The Girl of the Wild Ch.19

Things change

Sir Justin was on another mission today as Shining Knight and I had already made it to the seamstress. I'd gone every day this week and the appropriate costume still hadn't been made. Each one was just too revealing; the first one had so little clothing I refused it the second I saw it. It was very similar to Wonder Woman's, but had a cheetah print corset and black leotard bottom with black heeled shoes. Another uniform had a black long sleeves shirt, but it was a belly shirt with the shoulders cut out and was accompanied with a short cheetah skirt. Every trip I made seemed to be a failure and the woman looked at me like I was crazy when I refused the outfits. It wasn't that I didn't like the uniforms, or had an issue with modesty, but they showed too much skin and I couldn't have that. What would people think of me when they saw the burns and scars that were trailing down my body? I'd be even more of an outcast than I already was.

Anyway, Sir Justin was on a mission, so he'd assigned me a mountain of homework to complete. So much for light homework; I scoffed and threw my science book on the bed behind me. I leaned back in my chair, used my hand to push my hair away from my face, and lifted my legs up into my swivel chair. Sir Justin was merely trying to catch me up on my education, but it was exhausting. Between my training with Nightwing and my education, not to mention my failed costumed designs, I'd had no time to relax. My eyes travelled to the door of my room. "I wonder…" I said as I sat Indian style in my chair and turned it so I faced the door. In one quick motion I whipped out my hand and focused my mind towards the door. I'd seen in a movie recently that, if you focused, you could use your mind to open things. My eyes narrowed and my outstretched hand began to shake in concentration. It was a few seconds of using "the force" when the doorknob began to rattle and shake. It was working! I marveled and focused my eyes more on the doorknob.

In one swift motion it opened. I pulled my hand towards my body and looked at it in wonder. "What're you doing?" someone said, causing me to jump. With mouth agape, I looked up and saw Wally standing with his eyebrows pulled together in confusion. He was wearing his suit, but his hooded mask was pulled down to reveal his apple green eyes and ginger hair. Swiftly putting my hand behind my back, I coughed. Well, that was embarrassing. "Nothing," I mumbled; I had forgotten that I'd left my door unlocked, so it was a good thing I was still wearing my mask. Wally chuckled well naturedly and invited me to get something to drink with him. There was an awkward pause. "Come on Delmira," he said. "You've barely had a break since the moment you've gotten here and it's been a month. Take a break," he paused and looked at me with a quirked eyebrow and knowing gaze. "You clearly need one." I blushed. He'd caught me using "the force."

"All right, you've convinced me." Flash smiled widely and pumped his fist in the air at his small victory. "I have to run a few errands first, but I'll be back and then we can go get some drinks." With that said, Wally flew out of the room at a super speed, causing stray papers to fly around the room and the door slammed closed behind him. Smiling, I got up to take a quick shower while Wally was out "running." I chuckled at the stray thought. Wally had made a joke without even realizing it.

A large wave of steam came out of the bathroom as I walked towards my dresser. I put on a large plush robe and tied to sash tight around my waist. The gunshot wound from my extraction in Zimbabwe was fully healed, but a light pink scar had taken place. My increased healing had helped with the damage, but it wasn't powerful enough to erase it completely. In a way, I didn't want my healing ability to take it away. My scars tell a story. They are a reminder of times when life tried to break me, but failed. They are markings of where the structure of my character was wielded. I smiled and looked down at the Leon stuffed animal that was lying on my bed. Combing through my wet hair, a knock came from the door. Without thinking, I placed my comb on the table and treaded over to the door and typed in my code for it to open. Wally was standing in the threshold with his mask pulled over his head, and he was now the Flash. Because of his mask I didn't notice the large blush that was now on his face when he saw that I was wearing a bathrobe.

I also didn't notice how apprehensively he was standing or how rigid his shoulders were when he noticed the burns on my bare legs. I hadn't forgotten that I was burned, but at that moment I didn't particularly care. I moved to the side and gestured for him to come in. As he passed the doorway he looked around and hesitantly made his way to my desk chair. "Just a moment," I said as I grabbed my clothes and headed into the bathroom.

When I came back out Flash was no longer sitting where I last saw him, but was now looking at the animal figurines on the dresser. I smiled at the speedster as I hung my robe on the hook of the door to the bathroom. His tall figure was bent over slightly so he could get a good look at the statues and I giggled. Flash looked over to see me trying to suppress my small laughter by putting a hand over my mouth, and he flashed a bright smile. Stretching to his full 6'1 he walked over and bumped me teasingly in the shoulder. "Ready to go?" He asked and I smiled in response.

As we left and walked down the hallway, I began to braid my wet hair. Now that I had hair ties at my disposal, I had started to wear my hair up, more often than down. One reason was that it was easy to keep my hair out of my face when I was fighting and another was because I thought it brought out my eyes. At least, M'Gann and Kara said it did. Noticing this, my speedster friend made a comment about it looking shorter than the last time he saw me, which was around a month ago. "Have you gotten a haircut?" He asked exasperatedly as he placed his arm firmly on my shoulders demonstratively. In response, I picked up the end of my hair and looked at it. It was still mostly a light blonde, but some pieces had turned to a golden color with the lack of sun it was getting.

M'Gann had convinced me to get two inches off to- as she said- "prevent split ends." It had been a different experience getting it cut, especially by someone trained to do it and not myself with a dull knife when it got obnoxious. Luckily, the hairstylist hadn't taken too much off and my hair still reached the lower part of my back. I nodded my head and shrugged Flash's arm off my shoulders as we entered the cafeteria. The feeling he left when he touched me felt foreign and something about it didn't feel right. When Wally walked over to the counter to get our drinks, I hoped that he didn't notice my uncomfortableness.

I sat down at the table Supergirl (Kara) and Star Girl (Courtney) were sitting at and said hello before turning around and seeing Flash pick up two cups and walk towards our table with a large smile on his face. As he sat down he handed my drink to me and I looked at it hesitantly. It was a strange brown liquid with a pile of whipped cream on top and some sticky looking substance drizzled on the whipped cream. Looking back at Flash, I saw him smile at me and point to my mug. "It's a salted caramel mocha latte," he said and chuckled at my confused expression. "It's good. You'll like it, but it's hot, so be careful."

He smiled reassuringly before pulling his iced drink to his lips. I pulled my "salted caramel mocha latte" to my lips and took a small sip. As the warm liquid slid down my throat I hummed. Flash was right when he said I would like it. I took another, larger drag of the delicious drink and tried to ignore the pain when it lightly burned my throat. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the speedster next to me smile. Turning to him I smiled, not knowing that I had a whipped cream mustache. He threw his head up, his lovely laugh bubbling out of his throat and through the cafeteria. I furrowed my eyebrows at his strange behavior and looked towards Supergirl and Star Girl for answers. Supergirl giggled and Star Girl gestured towards my lip. Wiping my lip I looked at my hand and saw a trail of whipped cream on my forefinger.

I made sure I got it all before elbowing Flash in the arm. He attempted to silence his laughter and I glared playfully at him before turning and making conversation with my other friends at the table, acting like I was mad at the speedster for laughing at me. I didn't notice the sadness in his eyes when I turned away. He knew I was just kidding. That wasn't why my friend was upset. Believe it or not, Wally was good at hiding his emotions when he needed to and this time it came in handy. He was upset because he'd noticed. He noticed the grimace I made, the small flicker of disturbance in my eyes, and the rigidness I held in my walk when I was near him. I hid it quite well too, but Wally had seen through my façade. Something had changed between us, and Wally didn't like it.

**Author's Note: Hey, hey, hey! So Wally was in this chapter! And they went out for drinks and he gave Delmira her first coffee. But what is that thing that's changed between them? Or is it a who? Stay tuned and I hope you enjoyed. **

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	21. Chapter 20 Difficult Relations

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 20

Difficult Relations

I opened my eyes slowly and sat up from my bed and sighed. It was another sleepless night. The dreams had been going on for weeks now and I could barely focus on my studies. Sir Justin began to notice and every day he would ask me if I was okay and every day I would tell him the same thing. I was fine. I just wasn't sleeping well. But the truth was that I wasn't fine. The nightmares were getting worse, each one different, and each one harder to wake up from. I had no one to confide in. Nightwing had been gone for weeks and whenever I asked someone why he was gone they would just shake their head at me. Nightwing was the only one who knew about my nightmares and I was too embarrassed to tell anyone else. They wouldn't understand. They would try to get me help, but I didn't want help. I wanted someone to understand.

The room was quiet, but all I could hear were the cries of my family in Zimbabwe. In this vision I had returned to find all of Zimbabwe destroyed. Everything was burned to the ground, leaving a scorch mark across Africa. I had heard the cries of my family, asking me why I hadn't been there to save them, but I had no reply. I tried to speak, but my voice was drowned out by the cries of my family's anguish as they burned. The bed creaked as I got up and walked toward the bathroom. All I wanted to do was stay in bed, but that wasn't possible, because if I stayed in bed that meant the nightmares had one. They hadn't won, because I was fine.

The striking white light of the bathroom turned on, and my eyes squinted at the mirror. I looked like a ghost of my old self. My once sun kissed skin was now a sickly pale and my golden hair had almost lost its glow. I looked different from the person I was when I first appeared at the Watch Tower. My blue-green eyes had lost their spark and were blood shot. The lack of sleep was changing me and I needed to get help soon… What was I saying? I washed my face, changed my clothes and headed out. I didn't need help.

I shuffled down the hallway to my lesson with Sir Justin when Cassie ran up to me. "Nightwing's back," she said. "He'd like to see…" The girl of wonder stopped when she saw the state I was in. "What happened to you?" She asked but I ignored her and asked her where Nightwing was. When she said he was in the training room I ran off, ignoring her calls for me. Now that Nightwing was back, maybe things could be better. A smile appeared on my face as I ran down that hallway towards him. But once I saw him, that smile would disappear.

He looked different. His back was toward me, but his shoulders were rigid and tense, making the muscles underneath his thin shirt even more pronounced. I stopped in my tracks behind him but somehow Nightwing heard me and turned around. His face was forlorn and my heart dropped when I saw the sad state he was in. But as quick as I saw his lost appearance, it had vanished, hidden behind the black mask that he wore. I stumbled for words to console him, to question him on where he had gone and why he seemed so lost, but he stopped me before I could. Nightwing threw a wooden bo staff at me and, with a bit of difficulty, I was able to catch it. Without a pause or explanation, Nightwing ran at me with another staff. I stumbled to bring my staff up in-front and block his shot and when he charged again, I back-flipped to create distance between us. "Nightwing…" I gasped but couldn't say anymore before I had to duck. I lifted my staff in front of my face and a large '_crack!'_ came from our sticks as they connected.

I grunted and pushed the dark haired man a few feet away from me. "What are you doing?" I shouted. Nightwing ran at me again with his bo staff out and we battled for a few more seconds, but I was struggling to keep up. When we had spared before it hadn't been that easy to keep up with him, but with the unhealthy state I was in, it was even harder. Nightwing twisted his wooden staff in his hand and knocked mine out from my grasp, sending it clattering to the floor. He stabbed the wooden stick at me and as I stumbled backward, he tripped me and I landed hard on the floor. There was no mat below me, so the hard fall knocked the breath out of me.

Nightwing stood above me and shouted for me to get up but I couldn't. The task was too arduous for my weakened state. My whole body ached and along with the burning feeling in my lungs, there was a pain in my heart that I couldn't understand. "Get up I said!" He shouted, with his face contorted in anger and frustration. "I can't!" I shouted back at him as I rolled over to my side and tried to catch my breath. Nightwing's anger slipped away for a moment to a blank stare before returning back to anger when I looked back at him.

"What is your problem?" I yelled once I was up and had my breath back. "You disappear for weeks without a single explanation. You didn't message me when you were gone. You didn't ask me if I was okay. I was beginning to think the worst. What if you were hurt? Or dead?" I shouted and flung my arms up in to the air. Not taking a pause for him to respond, I began shouting at the top of my voice, not caring if people could hear me out in the hallway. In a softer voice I said "And then you show up all of the sudden and I think 'wow, he's back. I hope he's okay. I'm sure he must have a good explanation, because he's my friend and nice like that.' But no!" I shouted then when my anger erupted again. "The second I walk in you attack me! You don't ask me if I'm okay. You don't give me an explanation as to why you were gone. You just attack me!" Then, in a softer voice, I said, "Well, you know what? I'm done. Do whatever you want to, I obviously don't matter." And with that said, I plodded out of the training room, slamming the big door behind me.

_Music: "Between the Lines" - Sarah Bareilles_

I stopped suddenly outside the door and looked around. People were stopped in the hallway looking at me with wide eyes and tight lips. My chest heaved up and down to catch my breath from the fight between Nightwing and me. When I saw the on lookers, they began what they were doing before and sound picked up again in the hallway. I tried to keep my head up high and ignore the stares of the members of the Justice League as I made my way to my room. I couldn't believe the way Nightwing had treated me. I thought we were friends. He hadn't even noticed the tired state I was in, or the redness in my eyes, or my jumpiness at the slightest sound. I had noticed his unsettlement, why hadn't he noticed mine?

Once inside my room I closed the door and made it to my bed before sitting down. I stared blankly at the wall before pulling out my English textbook and notebook. I turned to page 394 of my textbook and opened up a fresh piece of paper in my notebook. I picked up my pencil and twiddled it in my fingers before dropping it as tears dropped from my eyes. My head dipped down and my hands grasped the corners of my textbook as I cried silently in my dark room, alone.

Time had passed since then, but I hadn't fallen asleep. I was in the land between sleep and awake, afraid that if I slept I would dream. Dreams led to nightmares and nightmares led to… The blinking red light of my alarm showed that it was three in the morning and, knowing that I would not sleep tonight, I switched into some workout clothes and got ready to leave. As I switched open the door, there was a vase of orange flowers and a note attached to it. Looking around the hallway and seeing it empty, I bent down and picked up the vase before walking back into my room. Placing the vase on my desk, I picked up the note and it read: **This is the Gazania flower, native to Southern Africa. Battling the harshness of summer, this beautiful flower, blooming in colors of orange and red, demonstrates the beauty of the African sun. This flower is much like you, growing up in Zimbabwe must have been hard, but you overcame that and turned into a beautiful flower. "**

The flowers were beautiful and whoever left them was right in saying that they looked like the sun. The pedals were a deep red around the middle, slowly bleeding into a bright orange and then a light yellow into the tips of the pedals. I smiled and wondered who had left the sweet gift. They were something I needed to cheer me up. I turned to leave and as I opened the door once more to leave, I took a fleeting look back at the Gazanias.

I pulled my chin back up to the bar, held myself up for two seconds and then dropped back down to do it again. The time was unknown to me now but I had built up a sweat in my light blue long sleeve top, and gray yoga pants. My arms ached and my teeth hurt from gritting them as I pulled myself up once more. Suddenly I felt someone stand behind me and I stopped. A line of sweat slithered down my face and dropped onto the floor. I dropped to the floor and turned to see Nightwing in the door with a black expression. I turned my head from him and walked over to wipe the chalk off my hands and get a bottle of water. "I need to talk to you," he said as he made his way over. I looked down at the towel in my hands, trying my best not to turn and look at him, because I knew that if I did I wouldn't be able to stay mad at him.

"Well, I don't want to talk to you," I said as I slung the towel over my shoulder and began walking down the hallway. I wanted to leave Nightwing behind and go back to my room, but he didn't grant my wishes and still followed me. My anger flared and my strength broke in trying to avoid eye contact with him. My calloused hands formed into fists and I whipped around to glare at him. "Can't you understand?" I spat at him, but his stance remained neutral before he pulls his brows forward behind his dark sunglasses and pleaded with me. "Please, just let me explain." I loosened my footing, but my hands remained fisted as I looked down at my feet.

"Delmira," he paused and then spoke again with his voice low and pleading. "Please," his voice cracked as he begged me one last time to listen. My hands loosened and I slowly lifted my eyes to look at him.

"Okay," I said and a tiny smile reached his lips.

"Okay," he said as we made our way to the cafeteria.

Nightwing walked behind the counter as I sat down at our regular spot. No one was working, as it was still the middle of the night. "What could be his excuse? What could make up for what he had done to me?" I wondered. A cabinet was opened, dishes clinked in the back and something was poured. I looked up to see Nightwing push away the swaying counter door with two mugs of something topped with whipped cream and steaming in his hands. After placing the mugs on the table, Nightwing pulled out a chair and sat down. Nightwing grabbed a green mug with the Green Lantern symbol painted on the front. Assuming the Green Arrow mug was mine, I took a sip of my drink. The drink was warm and creamy, very much like the iced mocha I had before with Wally.

"You like it?" Nightwing smiled as I licked the whipped topping off of my lip. I nodded and drew another sip. "It's hot chocolate with two spoon-fulls of whipped cream and a pinch of cinnamon. Alfred use to make it all the time when I couldn't sleep."

"Who's Alfred?" I asked as I placed my mug on the table. Nightwing froze and shuffled in his chair. It seemed he'd let something slip. "You were going to tell me what you acted the way you acted." I reminded him and he looked up.

"Oh yeah," he said as he shuffled in his seat. "Right, well," Nightwing looked down at his lap and twiddled with his thumbs. I had never seen him more out of his comfort zone before. He looked up at me. "That last day when we had finished practice and M'Gann and Kaldur came in and talked to me while you were leaving, I had found out something that…" Nightwing stopped and looked back down at his lap. Swallowing, my friend paused and looked to the side. Blinking a couple of times, he swallowed again and formed his hands into fists. "They informed me of something that I had imagined happening so many times, but no matter how many times and scenarios I imagined it in, it couldn't prepare me for this."

**Author's Note: So Delmira is having nightmares and doesn't know why they're caused or how to stop them. And Nightwing and Delmira had their first fight! How did you guys like the mini fight scene between the two? I hope no one is too mad at Nightwing for being mean. What happened that caused Nightwing to be so shaken up? Comment your thoughts and theories. **** You'll figure out what happened that night in the next update. **

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	22. Chapter 21 What Happened to Batgirl

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 21

What happened to Batgirl

**I own nothing except my character and her family and animal family, and the plot sequence**

**All other material goes to DC and its creators and writers**

*the words in **bold** mean that that part of the word is emphazied. Anyway, enjoy!

"It had been a regular night in Gotham City, and Batgirl and Batman were patrolling…" The cafeteria at the Watch Tower began to disappear into a dark city. Smog poured out of the tall buildings, an eerie glow being cast from the yellow lights of the factories. A shadow glided across the rooftops, searching for crime in the streets below. The sound of car horns and screeching tires sounded from the streets, a baby was crying in one of the rundown apartments as a TV blared the latest Gotham Rogues game. The shadow stopped by one of the windows and looked in at the TV. Gotham's pro baseball team had just struck a home run and was now leading 3-2. The man in the apartment stood up and cheered, a half empty beer bottle crashing to the ground. The shadow cheered under her breath, forming a fist and pulling it to her body in delight. "Focus Batgirl," a monotone voice said from the small radio communicator in Batgirl's cowl.

Batgirl ran past the window and leaped to the next rooftop and into a crouch. "Oh come on Bruce," she whispered as she stood up and placed two fingers to her pointed bat ear where the earpiece was. "No one's out. It's a quiet night. Hey! Maybe after this you and I could go to that new restaurant that opened up…" Batman smiled in the Batmobile as he zoomed down the streets. Barbara continued to talk about the new restaurant in excitement before she stopped suddenly. "Batgirl?" Batman asked as he adjusted his grip on the steering wheel.

"I hear something in the alleyway," the redhead whispered as she crawled over to the edge of the roof and looked down into the dark space between the two buildings. A crash was heard below. "I'm going to check it out," she said as she stood up and jumped into the blackness. A gunshot sounded through the radio of Batman's car.

"Batgirl. Batgirl report!" Bruce shouted, a slight panic creeping through his exposure. A blood curdling cry was heard through Gotham. "Barbara!" Bruce shouted as he jerked the wheel, the Batmobile's tires screeching as it turned around and headed back down the street to where Batgirl was last heard from.

"Batman searched all night," Nightwing continued, not looking up at me. "Not once thinking of calling me to help in the search. It had been hours before he'd even called Robin in to help…" The cafeteria scene faded away again into the darkness of Gotham City. Robin and Batman were searching the alleyway where Batgirl had disappeared. "Batman, we've been searching this place for hours. Maybe we should…"

"What Robin?" Batman yelled as he looked over to the third boy wonder. "We should what?" He growled as he stood up and faced the teen. Robin put down the trashcan lid he was examining and looked at the Dark Knight. Before he could respond, a sickening cackle was heard from behind them. Turning as quick as a light, the two saw a small jack-in-the-box they hadn't seen before. Hesitantly making their way over, the dynamic duo stopped in front of the box. Suddenly the box opened and the two jumped back, covering their mouths with their capes in case any kind of poison or joker gas filled the air. "Greetings, Batman and Robin," the voice of the Joker was heard from the head of the jack in the box as it springed childishly back and forth. "You're probably wondering where your dear Batgirl is right now. Well don't you worry," the Joker said in his high pitched voice as another of his psychotic laughs erupted through the night, causing Robin's skin to crawl and Batman's teeth to grind at the thought of what the mad man was doing to Barbara. "I have her," the clown barked out before laughing again. "Anyway," the mad man said, changing the subject abruptly as he smacked his lips. "You better come get her and Mr. Gordon or Gotham will have two less crime fighters in the world." Joker began to laugh again.

Robin slammed the lid on the box down in anger, ending the Joker's laughter. "What do we do now?" Robin asked, turning toward Batman. Batman flung his cape behind his back and walked past Robin to examine the box closer. Turning the box over, he saw a label for "Tim's Toy Town," and an address below it.

Getting up with the box in his gloved hands, Batman opened the glass roof of the Batmobile and jumped in, Robin jumping in the passenger seat next to him. The top slid closed as Batman and Robin flew down the road to rescue Batgirl.

The building was old and run down, with no light illuminating it from the inside. The dynamic duo creeped into the building as quietly as possible. Tim's Toy Town had been closed for years after a lawsuit had shut it down when one of the toys had malfunctioned and caught a house on fire. With the building located on the outskirts of the city, by the Gotham Harbor, this was the perfect place for the Joker to hide. A robotic laugh was heard to the left, causing Robin to whip out a bird-a-rang. Batman placed a gloved hand on Robin's shoulder and pointed to a jack-in-the-box that had gone off. This caused Robin's shoulders to relax and he slowly put down the weapon as they continued to walk. The place gave him the creeps.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Batman and Robin, what an **un**surprise!" the Joker yelled from the speakers above. "I have two captors here," the Joker said as a spot light turned on. It revealed Commissioner Gordon, tied up and blindfolded with a deep gash on his forehead and his mouth duct taped as he hung from the ceiling. The gray haired man wiggled in his restraints, trying to get out of the ropes, but if he did, he'd only fall from the great height and possibly break his leg, or worse. Another spot light came on, revealing Batgirl, with her mask missing and a strip of duct tape covering her mouth. A large gash was on the side of her cheek, most likely caused from the Joker getting a little knife happy. "You have a very limited amount of time here," the Joker said, another sickening cackle escaping his red lips. "You can either save the Commissioner and his** daughter**. Or you can come and try to catch me! Either way, I'll just end up escaping!" The joker said cheerily as the line went dead.

Batman took a quick glance toward Robin. "You get the commissioner," he told him. "I'll get Batgirl." Robin nodded and quickly ran off to save Gordon. Batman ran towards Batgirl. Using his grappler, he reached the female crusader. Putting one arm securely around her waist, he used the other to begin cutting the ropes with a bat-a-rang he carried in his utility belt. He looked towards Barbara. Tears were streaming from her blue eyes, cascading down her face before landings several feet down below them. Bruce felt a twinge of guilt go through him at not being there for her when she needed him. The rope snapped, but before Batgirl could fall, Batman grabbed her. Holding her close, he shot another grappler and propelled himself to the ground.

Now safely below, Batman began to untie her from the ropes the Joker had placed on her. Hearing muffled cries from Batgirl, he looked up to see her shaking her head profusely at him. Standing to his full height, Batman ripped the duct tape as quickly and delicately as possible from the red head's face. Blood from the cut on her cheekbone began to cascade down into her mouth and another twinge went through the Dark Knight, but this time it was anger. No matter what or who Batman had to go through, he would make sure that the Joker paid for this.

A red mark began to form around Barbara's mouth from the duct tape as Robin ran towards them, with the limping commissioner next to him. The commissioner was at a loss of words to say to his daughter at seeing her revealed as Batgirl. Spitting out the blood that had gotten in her mouth from the wound, she began to speak. In a stuttered rush, she tried to tell them that it was a trap, but before she could finish, a gun shot went off.

Leaping as quickly as possible towards Batman, the bullet hit Barbara and she fell to the ground. Grabbing Barbara, Batman sank to the ground with her in his arms. Batman turned over her face and held her closer to his chest. Looking up at Robin, he shouted for the boy wonder to get the Bat mobile. Robin couldn't move. He just stood there like a deer in the headlights, looking at his fallen comrade. "Robin, go!" Batman shouted. Snapping out of his reverie, Robin ran off towards the Bat mobile as quick as possible. Commissioner Gordon fell to the ground and began crying, mumbling things that no one could here.

"My baby girl," he cried. "My poor baby girl," he kept repeating. A roar of an engine was heard, and the Batmobile came crashing into the building. Parking a few feet away from Batman, Robin hopped out and ran towards his mentor. With Robin at his side, Batman slowly rose and walked toward the car. He quickly told Robin to get in the driver's seat and drive to the Bat Cave. Robin nodded and hopped in, telling Batman that he had already contacted Dr. Leslie Thompkins. The two zoomed off to the cave as the police finally arrived at the toy factory, Batman cradling the unconscious Batgirl in his arms, whispering for her to hold on.

"They contacted a doctor," Nightwing said, his voice so much quieter than it was in the beginning of this story. "A doctor that Batman trusted to take care of Batgirl, a good doctor who did all she could. But the effect was the same." My friend looked down at his lap, his shoulders sagging forward. I wanted so much to give him some sense of comfort, but I didn't know how to. I had never had to do this before, so I simply put my hand on his arm, giving it a comforting squeeze as I waited for Nightwing to continue. "The bullet penetrated her lower spinal column and Batgirl's now paralyzed. She'll never be able to walk again." Nightwing put his head in his hands. His shoulder's shaking as he covered his face and cried. "And I wasn't there to help her," he sobbed. As Nightwing got up, I stood up with him and quickly wrapped him in my arms.

He stiffened at first, but eventually gave in, and wrapped his arms slowly around my waist. His cries were muffled as he bent down and pressed his face against my shoulder. I rubbed comforting circles in his back, waiting for him to sober up. I didn't mind, though. We could stand here all night and I'd be okay with it, as long as I could provide some sense of comfort to my friend. Nightwing had been such a comfort to me, and I hadn't even realized how broken he really was inside. I let go as I felt Nightwing pull away from me and stand up straighter. I rubbed his arm reassuringly as he wiped the tears from his face before he straightened his sunglasses. "You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he mumbled shakily before he straightened up and cleared his throat. "Thank you," he said, giving me a shaky side smile. I smiled back.

"You are welcome," I said, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze before I let go and took a step back. I had to remember that Nightwing was my teacher, and we had to remain professional. "So, what did I miss?" He asked.

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	23. Chapter 22 Wild Flower

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 22

Wild Flower

I was doing homework on my bedroom window bench when I heard my name called over the intercom. "Delmira, you're needed at the uniform designer's," came the voice of Mr. Terrific. I smiled and turned my face upward toward the ceiling.

"Thanks Mr. T!" I called and I could almost feel him smile at my nickname for him as I got up from my seat. I slipped on my black ballet flats and headed out. Maybe my uniform would finally be ready. The Young Justice hallway was relatively empty, but the Justice League was not and I waved to two passing heroes. They smiled at me before heading away, their capes billowing behind them.

"Good afternoon, ma'am." I said to the seamstress as I sat down. The stout lady smiled at me cheerily before disappearing behind the back. She had a mischievous glint in her eyes when she returned, holding something in a box behind her back. The seamstress placed the box on my lap and I looked up at her. "What is it?"

She merely smiled at me and told me to open it. I looked down and slowly opened the brown box. I raised my eyebrows and looked up at her. "Really?" I said with a laugh, a quick smile spreading on my face.

"Well, go, go try it on!" The seamstress said, shooing me into the changing room. I slipped into the cool fabric, zipped up my boots, and placed on my mask before heading back out to look at my uniform in the mirror. The seamstress walked around me as I stepped onto the white platform, a circle of mirrors surrounding me. The uniform was a cheetah print cat suit and although it was tight with a bit of cleavage exposed, it was covering, which is what I wanted. With the suit were black fingerless gloves and black combat boots. The boots were a light weight but durable, which was perfect for running.

"The material is of a compressible micro-fabric, breathable but also durable. It takes a lot to rip that fabric, but don't go jumping into any kind of danger just because of that. I don't want to keep mending your uniform," She teased and I smiled before looking back at myself in the mirrors. I usually wasn't one to stare at myself, but I **really** liked this uniform. Robin came up behind me with the smallest of smirks on his face.

"Liking the view?" He breathed, his smile growing wider. I stepped down from the platform and turned to the third boy wonder as the seamstress walked back to the counter to do more work. "I got you something," he said, passing me a black utility belt with a silver rod in his hands. I took the black utility belt and wrapped it around my waist, clasping it at my side. It was slightly too big and hung crookedly at my side, but I liked it anyway. "Thank you," I said, looking down at the shorter boy. He smiled and bowed his head slightly. "It has a first-aid kit, flash light, a few knives, a grappler, and a communication device. I even put in a few hair-ties and bobby pins, for that mane of yours." Robin said, nudging me with his arm. I smiled and was about to thank him again when he pulled his hand out and placed the silver rod in my grasp.

"What am I supposed to do with this?" I asked, looking down at the cool metal. A semblance of a laugh escaped the ebony haired boy, although, it was more of a snicker than anything. "Place your thumb flat on the middle of the rod and press." I did as he said and a 'snikt' was heard as it slid quickly open and into a full staff. I looked up at Robin with wide eyes.

"It's made of high-density polymerized titanium, ten times as strong as steel and light weight too. It's also retractable, so it can fit into your belt," he said proudly, but I looked at him with a frown.

"What of my staff, from Zimbabwe. Where is that?" I questioned him with a raised brow and he shifted under my gaze. It seemed as if he didn't want to answer me. "Right," I said in frustration as I turned away from him. Batman had obviously spoken to his apprentice about how 'dangerous' I was. After a moment Robin came over to me as I angrily went through cloth splotches.

"Your spear, it was damaged during the fight and is no longer useable. Even if you were to use it again, it could hurt people, if not kill them! And I know you wouldn't want to hurt anyone," he said and I turned to see him smiling. A small smile reached my face as I nodded before looking back down at the material.

"Where is it now?"

"Kid Flash decided to put it with the other… souvenirs." Robin said in an amused tone. As he leaned on the table, I let out a small laugh. That sounded like something Bart would do.

"Nightwing wanted me to bring you to the conference room."

"Why? Did he say anything?" I asked, turning to him. He just shook his head. "Well, let's go." I said, dropping the cloth in my hands and heading to the conference room with Robin on my tail.

We arrived in the Young Justice Conference room to see everyone gathered. Nightwing was debriefing them on a mission when they all turned towards us. I looked over to them to see M'Gann was smiling widely at me and Kid Flash had the largest smirk on his face. "What's going on?" I asked as I walked slowly to the teen heroes. Even Nightwing had a tiny smile on his face.

"We're going on a mission!" M'Gann said, almost bursting with joy. I turned to her in confusion. Didn't they go on missions all the time?

"The uniform's smoakin' by the way," Bart said, his eyes trailing down my body in a way that made me feel like he had x-ray vision. Everyone was still standing and smiling around me. "Aren't you excited?" Beast Boy screamed, his green tail swishing widely around him. Excited for what?

"You're going on the mission with us," Conner said and I looked over to him. Superboy must have noticed I was still confused. His large arms were crossed over his chest defensively, but a tiny smile was on his face. I turned to Nightwing.

"Really?" I asked, as my lips pulled into an ecstatic smile on my face. Nightwing nodded.

"You'll just have to pick a name," he said, smiling down at me. A cry of joy escaped me and I flung my arms around his neck as I jumped up and down in excitement. "Thank you, thank you!" Then I remembered that I was hugging my teacher in front of my team and I quickly pulled away. That was awkward, and I didn't bother to look over at my other teammates to see their reaction. I bit my lip as I whipped my hands on the legs of my uniform.

"Sorry," I mumbled, looking down.

"Don't worry about it," he said and I looked up at him surprised. He had a mischievous grin on his face and I smiled up at him, a happy feeling over me and a heated blush spread over my body.

"So, have you picked a name?" M'Gann asked and I looked over at her. M'Gann was always the one to de-escalate the situation.

"Uh, yeah," I said, glancing back at Nightwing before turning back to the redheaded Martian. "Wild Flower," I proudly pronounced and placed my hands on my hips. Behind me Nightwing had a mysterious smile on his face.

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	24. Chapter 23 Mirrors Reflecting Mirrors

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 23

Mirrors Reflecting Mirrors

"So, what's going on with you and Nightwing?" M'Gann inquired as she turned around in her drivers chair in the bioship and faced me. A small panic ran through me as I looked back at her. My mind was racing and I couldn't think of what to tell her.

"No, no, nothing's going on," I shouted, shaking my hands frantically at her. She just smiled and turned forward again, obviously unconvinced by my words. I sighed and leaned back in my chair and watched the sky go by. The Team and I were on our way to Central City. Apparently an enemy of Wally's had broken into the Watch Tower and taken Bart's part of the Speed Force lightning bolt. I didn't know the whole story but, apparently, if you combined the two pieces, any non-speeder holding the piece could be transported into to the Speed Force. The villain who took it needs the other piece to travel, but we were going to take it back, so that he wouldn't be one step closer to leaving this dimension.

Aqualad had debriefed me after we'd gotten on M'Gann's ship. He was the leader of this mission, since Nightwing didn't go on many missions anymore. The Team on the mission to Central City wasn't too large. It consisted of Aqualad, Bart, M'Gann, Beast Boy, Superboy, and I. Aqualad got up from his chair in the front and walked to the back where I was sitting. "Mind if I switch seats with you BB?" He asked, leaning over to talk to the young teen. The boy showed a huge smile to show his canine teeth and nodded eagerly to go sit by his 'sister.' "Are you excited to go on your first mission?" Aqualad asked me politely and I nodded. I was excited, but I was also very apprehensive and kept fidgeting now and then. What if I messed up?

"You will do well," Aqualad told me, adding a reassuring smile to try and calm my nerves. He had to be right. I'd been undergoing training for a couple of months now, and it wasn't like I hadn't fought before. I should be calm, but I wasn't, no matter how much training I went through. "Thank you, Aqualad," I told him quietly and he inclined his head with a smile.

"Please, call me Kaldur." Although I felt more comfortable with calling him by his alias, I decided to agree, knowing that he would be happier if I accepted his request. I leaned back in my chair and looked back out the window before looking back at Aqualad- Kaldur. "I like your gills," I said shyly, noticing the tiny slits on the side of Aqua- Kaldur's neck. The dark skinned Atlantian looked at me with wide mint green eyes, shocked at the odd compliment. "I always thought it was cool to be able to breath underwater, but since there's not much water in Africa, I never got that ability. I can't even swim." I shrugged and saw La'gann walk forward and scoff. Oh, yeah, did I mention La'gann was on this mission?

"So, the mutt wants to be like an Atlantian. Ha, like that'll ever happen, filth." The man with the scar constantly called me that in my dream. I flinched at the name, but tried to keep up my strong demeanor. It must not have worked very well, because I saw Kaldur look over at me with concern and saw La'gann sneer at my expense. Why did he hate me so much?

The bioship touched down in Central City and the team and I unbuckled our seat belts and headed to the exit of the ship. The doors swished open to reveal a beautiful scene. It was early October and the leaves were slowly starting to change. The sun shone through the trees in little streaks of yellow light, blending the colors of orange, green, and yellow together in a beautiful array of light and colors. The trees whistled as a wind carried itself through its branches, and colorful leaves danced to the grassy floor. I smiled and took a deep breath, absorbing the beautiful scenery around me. The temperature was cooler than when I was last in Central City over a month ago, but with my new uniform, it was comfortable.

"We better get a move on, beautiful," Bart said to the side of me. I nodded and we followed after him. Although Kaldur was the most experienced team member on this mission and a founder of this team, we'd silently agreed to follow Bart's lead. This was his city and he knew the most about who we were facing, a man known as Mirror Master. After a few minutes of trekking silently through Central City Park, Bart motioned for us to stop and pointed ahead. Ahead of us was a man in an orange body suit and a green mask and goggles treading pretty loudly through the park. The police had cleared out the whole area and made a barrier to prevent civilians from getting in the line of fire.

We hid behind the coverage of the trees and silently watched Mirror Master, waiting for instructions from Aqualad. The Atlantian gave everyone their instructions, and they headed off to their appropriate positions for attach. "What about me?" I asked, confused as to why our leader had not given me instructions. Kaldur looked to me with a stoic expression and ordered me to stay where I was and not to engage. "What? Why?" I asked, perplexed, and a little upset to be 'put on the bench.'

"This is your first official mission as a part of a team. You've been in training for barely a month and Mirror Master is not someone to take lightly. It once took all of the League's founding members to take him down. You will stay here and will watch as we handle this."

"But I-"

"That's an order." Kaldur demanded and then headed off into the thick of the park to help take down Mirror Master. I growled under my breath in defiance but remained where I was behind the coverage of the trees. The last thing I needed to do was disobey Aqualad's orders and get in an even worse relationship with the League.

Just then Kid Flash came zooming out of the trees to attach the villain, but before he could make contact the rogue whipped around and aimed his glass gun at the speedster. As the shot went off, Kid Flash was fast enough to move out of the way, but that left the ray open to smack M'Gann out of the sky and onto the ground. La'gann then, blind with rage, ran at Mirror Master. The villain smiled sinisterly at La'gann and pressed a button on his suit, which emitted silver loops of subliminal light around himself and propelled them towards the Atlantian. La'gann stopped in his tracks and stood still, looking blindly forward in some kind of trance.

I gritted my teeth and squeezed my hands into fists, fighting my urge to run forward and help my teammates. Kid Flash super sped towards Mirror Master while Beast Boy ran at him from the other side in the form of a green raptor. The villain smirked and pressed another button on his suit and six duplicates of him appeared. As Kid Flash fought the fakes, Mirror Master shot at Beast Boy with his Glass Gun, trapping him in a shard of glass. That only left Kaldur and Superboy to fight off Mirror Master and complete the mission.

The Mirror Master copies continued to grow as they fought Kid Flash and eventually overpowered him, throwing punches and kicks to his face and stomach. Kid let out a cry as the hits continued and I fought every fiber in my body not to disobey orders and come to his assistance. When he began coughing violently as the wind was repeatedly forced out of him, I was just about to leave my position when Superboy appeared. The hero grabbed a copy that was hitting Kid Flash and threw him away, throwing him into the closest tree. A crack was heard as the copy impacted the plant and leaves were knocked from its branches. The copy growled in frustration and slowly stood up, turning into an alternate version of Conner. Everything that was black on Superboy was white on the clone, which included Conner's hair, t-shirt, and even the white of Conner's eyes was black. Copy Superboy yelled at Superboy and ran towards him. The heavy strides of the Kryptonians caused the ground to rumble at the two began to fight.

Kaldur ran up to Mirror Master and let out a battle cry as he fought the foe with his water bearers. Our leader put up a good fight and avoided most of Mirror Master's gun shots, but was eventually shot with his glass gun and trapped in the same glass shard that Beast Boy was.

Then, a whirling wind blew the trees of the park and almost blew me away. I tenaciously grabbed the tree I was hiding behind, but my grip was slipping. I called upon my elephant abilities and buried my feet in the ground to remain in my spot. Putting my arm up to shield my eyes from the strong wind, I looked up to see that Kid Flash had used his speed to create a small twister that had knocked the Mirror Master Duplicates off of him and into the surrounding trees. Superboy knocked out the alternate copy of himself as well and the replicas disappeared. It looked like the Team was going to win this fight, but I guess I spoke too soon.

As Kid Flash was about to run up to Mirror Master, he stopped. Mirror Master was holding the glass shard that had trapped Aqualad and Beast Boy. "Ah, ah, ah," he said, waving his finger at Bart. "You wouldn't want to do that. One move and I could crack this glass into pieces, killing your teammates inside it. You wouldn't want that. Would you?" he sing-songed. I looked from the villain to Kid Flash, who was gritting his teeth in frustration.

"Why are you doing this Mirror Master? What do you have to gain from this?" Bart yelled, but Mirror Master just chuckled.

"Isn't it obvious Kid Flash?" He badgered. "If I can gain access to the Speed Force, along with my access to the Mirror World, it would be just as easy to take control of the Earth!" The villain smiled, the gears in his head twisting up an idea of what he would do to the world once he controlled it. "Don't follow me Kid Flash, or the kiddies get it!" He bellowed and laughed before running off into the dense park. Now was my chance. No matter what my orders were, I had to take the chance. I couldn't let Mirror Master get away with the Speed Force amulet AND my friends.

I jumped in the coverage of the tall trees and jumped from branch to branch, but remained twenty paces behind Mirror Master. It was a large enough distance so that he couldn't hear me, but was short enough that I could still see him. I watched him from the tree tops, like a hunter watches their prey. I dug my nails into the bark of the trees and growled, my animal senses taking over. It felt good to be in the action once again. Mirror Master pulled out the glass shard that entrapped Beast Boy and Kaldur. "Well, I don't need you two anymore," he said and I took that as my cue to attach. I propelled myself forward and wrapped my hands around the next tree branch. I swung my arms forward and flew to the ground. Mirror Master looked up just in time for me to send a knee to his jaw. This caused the shard of glass to fly out of his hand and through the air. I leaped up and grabbed the piece, while doing a flip in mid-air over the villain's head. Once I landed on the ground, I took several flips back to distance myself from the man. Mirror Master was frowning and holding his jaw. When he saw me, I could tell that he was surprised to see a new hero in the game. I merely sneered and placed the shard in an empty pouch in my utility belt.

"It seems we have a new comer in this game," He said. I deepened my stance and brought my fists up, challenging the man in front of me. He scoffed and brought his hand down from his jaw before pressing a button on his suit. Five copies of the villain appeared, and suddenly I couldn't tell which the true Mirror Master was. I did know that if I took down the original, the others would disappear. The copies ran at me and began throwing punches. I used my cheetah agility to dodge the attaches and brought up my arms to throw away punches. The copies were duplicating themselves and I knew my attaches would be in vain if I didn't find the true man. I punched the copy holding me, grabbed his shoulders, and flipped away from the group.

Once away, I took a deep breath through my nose, smelling for Mirror Master's scent. He was on the outer edge of the group and when our eyes connected, he began running away. "Oh, I don't think so," I smiled and cheetah sped towards the villain's copies. I sprung over the copies and faced Mirror Master. "Think you could get away that easy?" I snarled, my teeth and eyes turning into the animal form I so loved. Mirror Master looked shocked for a moment, but that was quickly covered up. Before he could run away again, I began throwing punches. He dodged a few, but I also got a few in. Nightwing was right; villains were better trained than most of the poachers I had faced.

I was too focused on fighting my foe ahead, that I hadn't noticed his copies had surrounded me before they were literally on top of me. They might have just been copies, tricks of mirrors and lights, but it hurt when they sent blows. I felt every hit they threw, heard the sound that was made when flesh hit flesh. I wasn't going down like this, I told myself. I was going to rescue my friends and get the Speed Force amulet back. "Husimba e nzou!" I snarled, and I felt the strength of the elephant come upon me and I threw the copies off of me. Standing up, I looked to see Mirror Master shocked once again. I rubbed away the blood that had trickled from my mouth with the back of my hand and walked towards mirror master. My fist curled in the collar of his suit and I pulled him close to me so that our faces were inches apart.

"Now," I said in a bitter sweet town, smiling down at the villainous man. "You're coming with me," I spit out, dragging Mirror Master back to where he had taken down the Team.

Mirror Master and I walked through the coverage of the trees to see Kid Flash pacing back and forth and Superboy was sitting down, rubbing comforting circles in M'Gann's back as she put her face in her hands. As we entered the clearing, Bart and Conner looked up. As Bart raced toward me, Conner lightly shook M'Gann and pointed towards me when she looked up. A look of relief passed over her face as she flew over to me, with Conner running right behind her.

"You got him!" She exclaimed, causing me to smile and push Mirror Master forward.

"Yeah, and I got Aqualad and Beast Boy too," I said, pulling out the glass shard from my utility belt. I looked over to Mirror Master. "Now, are you going to turn my friends back?" I asked. Mirror Master remained silent and looked at me in defiance. "Well, if you want to go about it that way," I said exuberantly and used my elephant strength to push him forward. I wrapped my arms around his diaphragm and whispered in the Shona language for the ability from a snake to constrict him. My grip slowly increased and I felt him flinch under my hold. "How about now," I whispered in his ear, but Mirror Master just grit his teeth to remain from wheezing out a reply.

I continued to squeeze harder and I felt the air escape from my victim's lungs. After going such a long time without using my powers, it felt like a drug to me to feel the blood pump faster in my veins, to feel the enhanced strength and agility, and to be more aware of my surroundings. "Alright, alright, I'll do it!" Mirror Master yelled and I let go. He stumbled to the ground and landed on his hands and knees, sputtering and coughing to catch his breath. To be honest, I had forgotten about him in my arms, and that scared me a bit. I had to always remember to keep my powers in check, to keep that side of me hidden behind that locked door in my heart. Mirror Master turned to face me, his face red from the previous lack of air. He pushed his hands onto his knees for support and slowly got up. I pulled up the shard trapping my teammates and Mirror Master pulled out a small remote control from his green utility belt and pointed it at the glass.

Bart, Superboy, M'Gann, and I covered our eyes as a ray of light erupted from the remote control and hit the shard. As the light dissipated, we opened our eyes to see Aqualad and Beast Boy standing before us. M'Gann and Beast Boy embraced as Kaldur placed a hand on my shoulder and thanked me. I smiled and nodded. It was my pleasure. Bart confronted Mirror Master and pushed his hand towards the villain. Mirror Master sighed and opened another pouch in his utility belt and pulled out Bart's portion of the Speed Force lightning bolt and handed it to Kid Flash. The auburn headed speedster smiled and turned to face me. "Nice job, Cheetah Girl."

I placed my hands on my hips. "Hey, it's Wild Flower now," I teased and Bart just beamed up at me.

"Hey, I don't mean to interrupt, but we need to get La'gann out of whatever daze Mirror Master put him into," Miss Martian said to us with Beast Boy at her hip, turning to the standing form of the Atlantian a few feet away. I sighed, grabbed Mirror Master, who had been standing under the watch of Superboy, and pushed him toward Lagoon Boy. When La'gann was unfrozen, he just scowled at me.

"Took you long enough," he said and stomped away toward M'Gann. I scowled at his back and followed behind him. Because of that remark, I wasn't going to tell him about the large dribble of dried drool that was on his face.

Bart super-speed up to me and took control of holding Mirror Master. Except it wasn't much of an effort, considering how beaten up the villain was now. He even limped a bit and his breathing was a bit rugged and uneven. I felt a pain of guilt run through me, but I also felt a hand be placed on my arm. Looking over, I saw Bart had a small smile on his face and I smiled back at him.

After we handed Mirror Master to the police, M'Gann called the bioship and we headed inside to go back to the Watch Tower. I looked back at the park, my golden hair flowing behind me as a gust of wind passed through. It was so beautiful, and I wished so much to stay, but I knew I couldn't. Bart called after me and I entered the ship, the doors swishing closed and the ship rising into the sky.

_Chapter Music: "I Will Wait" –Mumford &amp; Sons_

148


	25. Chapter 24 You're as Cold as Ice Cream

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 24

You're as cold as Ice… Cream

After the mission in Central City, the team had met in the conference room to discuss the fight. Aqualad had first started the meeting by reprimanding me for disobeying orders. He had leaned across the table with a stern look on his face and told me the dangers that I had faced and the consequences that they held. "You disobeyed direct orders and went in unprepared and alone against a high risk supervillain without any sort of plan! Not to mention that Beast Boy and I were held captive and could have been harmed or killed while you fought Mirror Master. Did you not think that the glass shard that entrapped us could have cracked, or worse, shattered while you were fighting Mirror Master, trapping Beast Boy and I in there forever?" I had looked away from Kaldur at that moment, ashamed of my rash actions. The room was silent.

"However," Aqualad said. I looked up to see the Atlantian's demeanor had changed and he was giving a bright smile, which complimented his dark skin and light green eyes. "None of that happened and you fought Mirror Master with precision and bravery. Job well done," he said, and it was my turn to smile.

Bart, who had been sitting next to me, clasped my arm and I peered over my shoulder to look at him. "Nice job Delmira! Or should I say Wild Flower… or WF. Hey! That's like KF! KF and WF. W and K F!" I just rolled my eyes as Bart started to laugh. Kaldur interrupted the speedster with a stern look and told him to go hide the Speed Force piece in a safer spot, as opposed to wide out in the open, like it was before. Bart stopped laughing and got up, grumbling as he left the room. The rest of the Team and I began to laugh.

That had been yesterday, and now I was on my way to have ice cream with Wally. Apparently the frozen desert was really good. I was yet to try it, but after my mission against Mirror Master, I was excited for a treat, because I knew I needed one. There was a green bruise was a wicked cut on the side of my face that gave me a headache and a large dark purple bruise on my side that made it painful to laugh… or breath for that matter. At least, I stopped limping.

Kara and Courtney waved to me as I entered the Justice League cafeteria and I smiled and waved back at them as I came over. They were sitting at our regular table of course and it looked like they were arguing about something in hushed whispers. Not knowing what to do, I just sat there because I couldn't ease the situation if I didn't even know what it was about. "Fine! I'll just ask her!" Courtney shouted, throwing her hands up in the air before looking over at me. "So, you and Wally, huh?" She asked and I looked over at her with wide eyes.

"What?" I said exasperatedly, placing a hand on my sternum in shock. "No!" Courtney and Kara looked at each other before Kara folded her arms over her chest and leaned back in her chair in a manner that said, 'I told you so."

"No way, she said it way too fast! That just confirms what I said." Courtney defended and then began to giggle with Kara. I sat there confused before looking back at Wally, who was in his Flash costume and was getting our ice cream from the counter.

'Fastman is nice and everything and I admit I feel a slight attraction to him, but that's it. I don't feel a deep connection with him and when you're looking for a potential mate, physical attraction is nice, but a mental connection is better, and I don't feel that with Wally, not like I…"

My thoughts were interrupted when Flash called behind his back, "They don't have mocha ice-cream, so I got everyone the second best flavor on the planet. Cookie Dough." He turned around and smiled when his eyes landed on me. He handed Courtney and Kara their ice cream before placing mine in front of me and sitting down next to me. His arm brushed mine under the table and I felt a twinge in my chest before I pulled my arm away from his.

"I thought you didn't like Cookie Dough," Kara asked as she dug her spoon into the frozen treat and shoved it into her mouth. A mysterious smile reached Wally's face as he looked down at his bowl and dug his spoon into the creamy treat.

"A friend got me to like it," was all he said before shoveling the ice cream into his mouth and giving out a contented hum. I looked down at my bowl and took a small piece and put it into my mouth. The treat was creamy and delicious as it slowly melted into my mouth and I gave out a gratified yum as I dug into my treat again. For a moment there was only the sound of spoons clinking and chewing at our table before I placed down my spoon and looked at the others expectantly.

"So, who wants seconds?"

**Author's Note: So, who wants Ice cream now? **

150


	26. Chapter 25 Traveling Time

The Girl of the Wild Ch. 25

Traveling Time

_Music: Rescue Me by Fontella Bass_

"Oh take me in your arms," I sang as I flung out my arms and twirled around my room. The instruments in the song filled my ear drums as I danced to the beat and travelled around the room. "I want your tender arms. 'Coz I'm lonely and I'm bluuuuue!" I drawled out as I took the lion stuffed animal from my bed and hugged it to my chest. "_Come on baby and rescue me_," I smiled and closed my eyes as I swayed to the music. The beat sped up a bit and I began to jump around even more frantically than before when I heard the lines of the song that I was more familiar with and was able to sing to. "Can't you see that I'm lonely," I shouted as I jumped around in my room, enjoying the music. "Rescue" I couldn't finished the rest of the line before I felt a sharp pain enter my body through my foot, sending sharp tendrils of discomfort up my leg and a yelp escaped my mouth. My hand instrinctively reached out to draw my hurt leg closer to my chest and my yelp turned into a gutteral growl as I hopped over to my bed and sat down.

"Stupid foot," I muttered, placing my stuffed animal on the bed to look down at my toes. Be side the fact that the nail of my big toe was chiped, my foot was otherwise unharmed. The music continued to play from the ipod that Nightwing had given me a couple of days earlier. It was to help me catch up on music and when Shining Knight heard, he had thought that it was a briliant idea. The device didn't have cell reception but it had everything else. It had been so nice of Nightwing to give it to me, I thought as the music continued.

"_Come on and take my hand_

_C'mon, baby and be my man_

'_Cause I love you_

'_Cause I want you_

_Can't you see that I'm lonely?"_

The music concluded and began to play an unfamiliar song. I stood up and walked over to see what Pandora was playing now. Pulling my ipod from the speakers, I saw that the song was "A Hard Day's Night" by the Beatles. I smiled and plugged the ipod back in to the speakers to hear more of their music. After a couple of their songs, I decided to do some research, and continued this until I was called to the debriefing room for a mission.

I got ready in my uniform quickly, grabbed my ipod and earbuds, and headed out the door, but I wasn't really paying attention and was instead focusing on getting to the jet so I could listen to more Beatles music. "It's not like I'm going to do much on the mission," I thought as I sat down next to Wonder Girl at the table. This was only my second mission and on the first mission it seemed I had only stopped the guy by sheer luck. During the mission the Team had wanted me to stay out of their hair as much as possible. "It's not like I trained with _Nightwing, _the _leader_ of this team, or anything," I grumbled as we headed into the bioship.

We were going to England to stop some guy named Mad Mod from going back in time and taking over England, and then the world, so the jet ride would be pretty long. I settled in my seat, popped in my earbuds and watched as the clouds went by. This was going to be a long ride.

The red bioship touched down in the streets of London and the platform descended quickly. I placed my ipod and headphones into my utility belt before following the rest of the Team out. The Team consisted of Cassie, M'Gann, Bart, Beast Boy, Robin, and Jamie and they were already walking down the platform in "battle mode," as I like to call it. I stopped on the platform and looked around the beautiful city, which was much more exotic than where our last mission was. The place was beautiful, with the old style buildings and cafés on almost every courner. A large, red, double decker bus drove past us, and it was a beautiful, peaceful day.

You know, besides the crazy British guy screaming in the middle of the streets.

"Be careful, when Nightwing was fighting with the Teen Titans as Robin, Mad Mod turned him into an old man," Robin said, before taking out a bird-a-rang and walking quietly toward the man with the cherry red hair. Cassie scoffed before taking into the air, clearly still harvering feelings toward Robin for their break-up. Beast Boy giggled and I turned my head to stare at him. "Haha. I remember that. Wing, not a very attractive old man," Beast Boy said, looking back at me before turning into a ostich and running off.

We eventually surrounded Mod, thanks to Robin and his trusty grappling hook. "Good job, R3," I said, using my nickname for the masked kid. He didn't really enjoy the nickname, but that wasn't going to make me stop calling him by it.

"It's over Mod," he said. A cryptic smile reached the man's lips before he said in his thick accent,

"I don't think it is, Robin." The middle aged man somehow broke through R3's bindings and ran towards his time travel machine. He frantically pressed buttons, and a large blue and red portall began to form next to him.

"I told you we should have used the lasso," Cassie said, already ready to fly up and stop Mad Mod, but before she could I was already cheetah speeding towards him. I reached the villian and pushed him away as he was about to escape through the portal. It worked successfully, and I looked back at the Team with a large smile. They looked shocked at first, before a rare smile reached R3's lips. Of course, it didn't last very long. The portal began to grow larger behind me and began to create a large wind, sucking things near it into the portal. My feet began to slide behind me and I fell forward, trying to grab onto the ground with my cat claws, but it didn't work. My body scrapped against the street as I was slowly pulled backwards by the portal. I looked back at Robin to see that he and the rest of the Team had a frightenned look on their faces. Robin reached a hand out to try to grab onto me, but it was too late. I lost my grip when I tried to reach for him, and was sucked into the portal.

The Team ran towards the portal, whether to jump in themselves or shut it down, I do not know because before they could do anything, the portal closed and I was gone.

Robin stared with wide eyes at the spot where his new teammate had just disappeared. He quickly ran to the time portal machine and looked over it, trying to find anyway to get it to start back up and bring back Wild Flower, or atleast appear so that they could go in after her, but there was a problem. She could be anywhere.

Wonder Girl quickly tied up Mad Mod with her golden lasso and looked to the hero. But as Robin reached the machine it began to crackle and explode, and a gray smoke came from the top. R3 waved his hand to clear the smoke and looked down at the machine to see that it was destroyed. Then he looked to where Wild Flower had disappeared. The blue singed ground was the only trace that the portal had ever appeared. Jamie (Blue Beetle) took a step forward and began to try and get a read on the energy from the portal, but looked to Robin and just shook his head. Robin looked down to see that the only thing left that showed Delmira was ever there were her orange earbuds that were left on the ground. R3 picked them up and sighed before pressing a button on his glove communicator

The line crackled for a bit before a deep voice picked up on the other end.

"**Hello?"**

"**We have a situation," Robin said. "Wild Flower, she's gone."**

Nightwing sat up quickly from reclining in his seat at the monitor. "**What?!" He yelled.**

153


	27. Chapter 26 Where is She

The Bioship landed at the Watch Tower and the Team walked slowly out, their heads hung low in defeat. Nightwing stood at the docking station, his arms folded across his chest and his face set in a hard expression. Robin walked cautiously over towards him, preparing himself for the anger Nightwing was about to unleash. The muscles in his jaw twitched as he clenched it, trying with all his power to keep his emotions under check. Robin's head slowly lifted to look at his brother. He slowly gave Nightwing Delmira's orange iPod that had been left behind and Nightwing looked down at the small device. "Nightwing, before you…"

"How could you let this happen?" He growled, interrupting the younger hero.

"It wasn't his fault," Wonder Girl said, stepping in to defend her teammate. Nightwing sent her a sharp glare and her confidence faded as she looked away from him.

"Tell me what happened." He said, looking down at the young Team members. M'Gann, knowing Nightwing the longest, recalled the story and the more Nightwing heard about it, the more he feared for Delmira.

"The next thing we new, the portal was closing around Wild Flower, and she was gone." Nightwing hardened his fists and jerked around, trying his hardest not to punch something. "There was nothing we could have done!" M'Gann told him, trying to calm him down. Nightwing looked at her. "We tried to help her, we tried to get her out, but before we could the machine destroyed itself."

"Where's the machine now?"

"It's in the ship, but I don't see how that can…"

"Get it working," Nightwing ordered and M'Gann looked at him with wide eyes. There was so much anger feeding off of him, she could feel it. But underneath that anger there was something else. Fear.

"How? The machine was destroyed."

"I don't know! Just get it to work. What ever it takes." Nightwing said as he walked out of the room. M'Gann looked back at her teammates. Beast Boy was standing there with fear and sadness in his eyes, and Wonder Girl was disappointed in herself as a warrior, but the worst look was the one on Robin's face. He was angry at himself for loosing a teammate on a mission, and he was disappointed in himself for letting down the one person he looked up to the most.

"What are we doing standing here? Let's get it done." Robin said, flinging his cape around and walking back to the ship.

Nightwing walked quickly down the hallway, trying to get away from the prying eyes of everyone else in the Tower. Everyone watched with wide eyes as they saw him pass. Nightwing carried so much pain wherever he went, but he never put it on anyone. He put on a mask, physically and emotionally. He was so happy as a kid, but as he got older, it was harder. It was harder to cover up the pain and destruction he saw everyday. Whether he liked it or not, he was turning more and more into Batman everyday. But if you saw him now, you could read him like an open book. The dark haired hero walked faster. He could feel the stares of his teammates burning in the back of his head and as soon as he made it to his room, he typed in the key and slammed the door shut. The room was dark… and empty.

The last time he had been here was before Wally had disappeared and before Artemis had died, which was over a year ago.

He rushed into his bathroom and turned on the sink's water. Nightwing ripped off his mask and threw cold water onto his face, trying to calm himself down. When he looked up, cold water was dripping from his face and hair and his blue eyes stared back into the mirror. But all he could see was Delmira's face. He saw her beautiful golden hair which always had sporadically placed little braids. He saw the way she bit her lips whenever she was confused or focusing. And she saw her beautiful blue and green eyes that sparkled whenever she talked about something she loved. She was an ally, a pupil… a friend. Nightwing would do anything to get her back. He couldn't loose her.

Nightwing pulled out his phone from his utility belt and dialed a number. The phone rang a couple of times before the line picked up. "Hello?" A male voice asked on the other end.

"Vic, I need your help."

**Shemar Moore as the voice of Victor Stone/Cyborg**

Tim was so angry at himself for what happened to Delmira, that he was putting every effort he could into finding her. But it is often found that when you are angry because of something you've done, and you are trying to fix it in your anger, it only makes the issue worse. Then you only become more flustered and that's exactly what happened to Tim. He roared and kicked the machine. The devise sputtered and popped as if it was going to start, but then smoke began to empty from it and it stopped moving. Tim sighed and folded his hands on his head. Cassie placed a hand on his shoulder to console him but he gently pushed her away. "How are we going to find Delmira, if we can't even get this to work?" Robin said as he sat down on the ground and rested his hands on his knees.

M'Gann flew over and sat down beside him, crossing her legs Indian style. "Maybe we can ask the League to talk to Mad Mod. Surely we can get him to tell us how to fix the machine," she offered.

Tim shook his head. "No, if anyone in the League finds out that Delmira is missing, that means Batman finds out." Tim looked at his friends. "And if Batman finds out, we're in trouble."

The other three members of the Team looked down and thought. It was quiet in the room. After a few seconds Garfield's ears began to twitch and he turned before running on all four towards the door. The Team looked over to see a large metal man walk towards Garfield with a smile on his face. The man's whole body was covered in the strange dark metal and half of his face was covered with it. The side of his face that was covered had a red eye, and there was an electric blue line over the other. The man was a real…

"Cyborg!" Garfield yelled as he ran towards the man and jumped into his arms. The man chuckled as he hugged Garfield lightly before setting him down.

"Its great to see you, BB." Garfield smiled widely as the team began to come over. Cyborg looked down at the Young Justice members.

"What are you doing here Cyborg?" Robin asked, impatient to get back to fixing the machine.

"Bat-family. Always eager to get to the answers." Victor said, pointing to Tim.

"He's here to help fix the machine, and get Wild Flower back." Nightwing said, walking quickly passed the Team and over to the time machine. Victor nodded and crouched down to look at the contraption. He furrowed his brows.

"This device is highly unstable, I'm surprised it's still standing."

"But you can get it to work, right?" Cassie asked, stepping forward. Victor looked over at the Amazon before looking back at the machine and nodding.

"I think I can."

Hours passed as Victor tried to get the machine to work. He used every bit of data his suit had, but there was no telling how long it would take to get it working again. They were going along with no information on the device and even if they got it to work, how long would it take to find their friend? Everyone was eager to get Wild Flower back, especially because they knew that every second they used trying to find her was borrowed time.

But in Victor's defense, it was hard for him to focus when everyone was bothering the heck out of him. M'Gann was doing this weird meditation/floating thing, mumbling words in Martian as she tried to keep herself from going crazy and flying out of the cave. Garfield was prowling back and forth and morphing into animals every other second. And Cassie was looking at the floor and twiddling her thumbs, upset that she couldn't do anything to help. But what the Bat brothers were doing was bothering them the most. Tim kept getting up from his seat, walking a few feet, and then sitting back down, all to do it over again! But at least they were keeping to themselves! Nightwing would pace back and forth for a few minutes, holding some electronic devise in his hands Victor couldn't quite see, then walk over to stand over Victor's shoulder and critique him! "Did you do this Vic? Have you tried this yet? What about plugging this in?" It was driving him nuts! If Victor heard a comment like that one more time…

Nightwing stopped pacing and walked over to where his friend was looking at the machine. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?" Victor ground his teeth, trying not to raise his voice at his old teammate. "Cyborg? Are you even listening to me?" Nightwing asked, bending down to get in Victor's face.

"Enough!" He shouted, causing everyone else to stand up. "You know, I didn't have to come help you. It's two in the morning right now and I know you and bird boy over here like to stay up till all hours, but some of us normal people like to sleep. And no offense, but I think I would know a bit more about machines then you, considering over half of my body is one. So why don't you go sit down and stop bothering me!" Cyborg shouted, slamming his fist down on the machine. Nightwing's eyes narrowed and he was about to comment when the machine began to sputter and pop again. Tim was about to tell everyone that it wasn't going to work, but then the machine began to start! Everyone's eyes widened as they rushed towards it, leaving Tim behind in confusion.

The third Robin scratched his head as he walked over. "How come when I did that it just caught on fire?"

"You don't have that magic touch like Cyborg does," Garfield said, elbowing his teammate in the ribs.

"I guess I don't," he mumbled as he scratched his head. Cyborg began to type furiously into the time machine's keyboard.

"If I'm lucky, this'll tell us where and when Delmira was transported," Cyborg said, and everyone looked over his shoulders in anticipation. After a few seconds, the results came up.

"Location: England. Time: Unknown."

M'Gann floated back to the couch and sat down. Garfield put a hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort his adoptive sister. "How are we going to find her now?" she asked. Everyone looked away, not know how to respond.

"I'm sorry," Victor responded, looking over at the machine that had taken their friend away.

"Mama dracului," Nightwing shouted, cursing in his native tongue.

There was a moment of pause. "Well, I guess we're just going to have to do it the old fashion way," Cassie said, and everyone looked over at her, surprised. Cassie hadn't spoken since they started trying to get the machine to work.

Tim nodded and stood up. "You're right. We're wasting our time standing here when we could be doing something productive. We need to pull up all the known books the League has about English history. Wild Flower's new to whatever time era she's been thrown into. She's bound to stand out. And knowing who she's been trained by," Tim shot a glance towards Nightwing. "She knows we're looking so she'll make a mark that'll make it easier for us to find her and won't stir up trouble for anyone else." Everyone agreed to the plan and Tim nodded.

"Let's get to work, but let's keep it small. We don't want a lot of people figuring out that a member's gone missing."

The first one notified had been Oliver- also known as Green Arrow- who had been the first League member notified. Then Kaldur was notified, and then Bart, and now the whole Team was crowded in that room. Everyone was eager to help Delmira, and a couple were still in their pajamas. Tim was walking around the room, making sure everyone was working and trying to help whenever he could. He was talking to Cyborg when he felt a gust of wind and turned around to see Wally had raced into the room. "Bart told me Delmira was missing!" He said, looking flustered as he looked around the room. Tim turned around and narrowed his eyes at Bart. So much for keeping things quiet. Bart shrugged his shoulders and looked away sheepishly as Wally walked into the room.

"So much for keeping it quiet. It seems Bart ended up telling the whole Watch Tower," he thought as he looked over to see Shining Knight and Vigilante debating back and forth over a book. Tim sighed before turning back to talk to Cyborg about his new position in the League. "It seems every day one of our own graduates over to the League, or goes solo. Our numbers are dwindling. It seems this Team is just a stepping stone." Tim turned around and looked over at the people in the room, working eagerly to get back Delmira. "Beast Boy, Nightwing, and you were part of the original Titans, which started after the Team defeated Vandal Savage for controlling the League. Bumblebee was part of Titans East before she came here and Arsenal is now part of some so called team called the Outlaws. M'Gann, Superboy, and Nightwing might not ever join the League, but what about the others? Victor, you, Rocket, Zatanna and Wally joined the League, what's stopping the others from doing the same?" Robin asked.

Victor thought for a moment. "You know, you could always join together with the Titans. Ever since Nightwing left we've been in need for a leader. You could be that man. You said it yourself that its getting crowded in the Tower."

Tim looked away, thinking. Cyborg smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to decide now. It's just something to think over."

Tim nodded, but to be honest, leaving the Tower began to sound more and more like a good idea.

"Nice pjs." Wally turned around the see Bumblebee walk up behind him. "Hey Karen," he said, turning back to his computer. Wally didn't care that he was still in his pajamas, no matter how embarrassing they were (they were a white two piece with little pikachus on them).

All he wanted to do was find Delmira. "Wow, someone's in a good mood," she said sarcastically, sitting down beside him as he grabbed a book and began reading it.

"So, when did they call you in?" he asked, ignoring Karen's comment.

"About midway through everyone else. Your cousin was practically shouting it down the hallway. I don't even know Wild Flower that well, but it seems she's made a lot of friends. Everyone here's willing to set apart their day to help her, especially dark and gloomy over there," Karen said, nodding her head forward. Wally looked up from speed reading and followed Bumblebee's gaze. Nightwing was sitting apart from everyone else, deeply enveloped in his work. He was twirling Delmira's iPod in one of his hands and his back was hunched over his work. He was speedily taking notes and flying through papers. Wally furrowed his brows before turning back to his work.

Hours past, and no one had found anything about Delmira's disappearance and where she might be. Who knew there was so much history in England up until know? Wally shut his book closed and yawned before leaning back in his seat. Half of the team was either passed out asleep, or getting there, tired of searching for information all night. Wally's eyes began to close…

"I think I found something!" M'Gann shouted, standing up. People began to shake those asleep around them awake.

"What is it?" Wally asked, sitting up.

M'Gann began to read quickly from the book, which looked to be a small journal over a hundred years old. The outside was made of what used to be a hard brown leather, but now seemed like it was being held together at the seams. "It's dated October 21st, 1832. 'We caught another today. A cursed woman of the damned. Many in the village saw her talking to the beasts in the dark wilderness, enchanting them with her power. Only when we saw her did we realize just how vile the creature was. A horrid beast with long sharp teeth and a body covered in a strange pattern. She tried to cover her repulsive face by a cloak and attacked us when we tried to speak to her. Her eyes burned with a fire seen by no other man before and closely resembled that of a feline. She attached one of our own and vanished into the night. We alerted the Master and by God's power were able to capture the beast. She awaits trial in the morning, but I have no doubt that the sorceress will die.'" M'Gann closed the book. "That's all it says." It was quiet for a moment, before there was a crash. Everyone jumped and turned around to where they heard the bang.

Nightwing had knocked the books he was looking at off the table and looked to be in some sort of pain. He looked over towards everyone else in utter discomposure before turning and rushing out of the door. Wally stared after him in shock as the door closed. He'd never seen his friend so… exposed before. Wally had been upset too at hearing the words from that diary and Wally wanted Delmira back too, but he could keep his cool. He thought Nightwing could too. M'Gann closed the journal and walked over to stand by Wally.

"I've never seen him so… worried before," she said.

Wally didn't respond.

The night was cold and dark. My heart was beating faster than a hummingbird as I ran through the thick trees. They were after me. I could hear their footsteps as they got closer to me. My lungs were burning and my legs were aching. I stopped and hide behind a great tree and watched as their torches began to slow to a crawl and then stop all together. I sighed and looked up at the great moon above me. The moon was almost at it's peak, and soon it would be winter. The trees were already bare, and sent dark ominous shadows across the wood. The shouting began to quiet as I saw the torches begin to disappear in another direction. I took a deep breath and began to walk away, but as I did so a twig snapped underfoot. "The beast is over here!" A man shouted and the chase began again. I was stupid, I used my powers in a time that considered it witchcraft, and now I was paying the price.

A tree grabbed onto my cloak and I tried pulling out of it, but it just wouldn't let go. My hands shakily fumbled for the clasp on my cloak as I tried to escape. "They're gaining on you Delmira. They're gaining. Run. Run. Run!" The clasp finally broke and suddenly thunder rolled over head. I began to run once again. It seemed as if I had been running for hours and the darkness began to turn into figures and faces of things that dwelled in my nightmares. The men's voices were echoing behind me. "We have to kill the beast!"

"We're not safe until she's dead."

"She'll wreak havoc on our village if we let her free."

"We have to kill her. Kill the beast!"

I couldn't see anymore, couldn't think, couldn't breath. They were after me once again and I couldn't image how I could be free. Their voices began to blend together into one single voice. The voice of the man I had been running from my entire life. The voice of the man with the scar. A flash of lightning painted the night sky and the next thing I knew I was falling. Falling, falling, falling. My back landed hard against a tree and I felt a hot liquid begin to seep down my face and there was no doubt that I had been wounded.

This scene was all too familiar. The running, the flash of lightning through the night sky, the forest, the fear. It had happened all before. It had happened in my dreams.

The men ran through the trees, one step closer to grabbing me. I attempted to get up, but when I did a pain like no other knocked me down once again. I gritted my teeth and pulled my pant leg up with shaky fingers. My leg was painted with blood from a large wound on my knee, and I knew now that I would be captured.

The men made it through the trees and began to encircle me, each one with a gun pointed straight towards me, each one ready to shoot at their captured beast. One man was bold enough to step forward and poke me with the barrel of his gun and I hissed angrily at him. Every man quickly raised their guns to shoot, but a voice stopped them and a man walked through the crowd. "The witch is hurt now and wounded. She may threaten you, but she is no harm." The hunters slowly lowered their weapons, but kept their eyes on me. I could now see the man who had stopped them.

There was no mistaking his twisted expression and his large physique. "She is as good as dead." The men began to shout in triumph around me, but I kept my eyes narrowed at the man before me. It was the man with the scar. He had finally caught me.

**Duh, duh, duh! So what did you guys think? The story's speeding up quite nicely don't you think? Please comment on anything! I love hearing your opinions! **

**Why is Nightwing worried about Delmira more than anyone else? I feel as if Wally is wondering the same thing. **

**How is the man with the scar in the 1800s? **

**More importantly, why is he so interested in Delmira? She's seems to have gotten herself in quite a pickle. Can she get out of it? Will the Team find her in time? More questions to be answered in further chapters. Stay tuned! **


	28. Chapter 27 Finding Wild Flower

Nightwing had been held up for days in his room, and whenever someone tried to talk to him, the door remained shut and he remained unresponsive. People began to worry, and some claimed that he had left again, like he did after Wally was thought to be dead. But that couldn't have been true, because the night owls at the Tower had claimed seeing him late at night in the cafeteria to get food. But after the third day, some weren't so sure and the Team began to worry. M'Gann decided to try talking to Nightwing one more time and was deadset on breaking down the door if she had too.

It was early in the morning when M'Gann made it to his door. She had always been an early riser, so as far as she knew, none of her other teammates were awake. She slowly lifted her hand and was about to knock when the door slid quickly open and Nightwing ran out of the door with a laptop in his hands. Miss Martian stood there in shock before turning and flying after him. "Wake-up the Team," he shouted, running down the hallway to the library where they had met days earlier. "I know where Delmira is."

Fifteen minutes later the team was gathered in the library, half awake but eager to hear what Nightwing had to say about their lost teammate. He talked quickly, telling them that he had found that there had been numerous sights of a cat like woman in a small village outside of England in October of 1832. "A little girl had been walking through the forest to collect berries when she'd seen a woman in strange clothing by the stream. The girl saw the woman talk to the animals and didn't think it was strange until she saw that the animals seemed to understand what the woman was saying. The animals brought back berries and nuts like the woman had asked and the girl quickly ran back to her village and said what had happened." Nightwing turned to look at his teammates. "I have no doubt that the woman was Delmira. No one believed the girl's story until others began to claim the same thing. A party of hunters went out to hunt, but it seems Delmira got scared and attacked them. They ran back to the village and informed the local authority who then recruited some men to get Delmira. She was taken in, and executed." Nightwing revealed. There were collective gasps among the heroes. Miss Martian began to tear up and Superboy put his arm around her before he spoke up.

"There has to be something we can do."

Nightwing nodded. "If we can find what village Delmira is in, we should be able to go back in time and rescue her." Nightwing turned to Beast Boy. "Garfield."

"Yes!" The green boy shouted, waking up from the nap he was in.

"You were the closest to Raven. Do you think you could get in touch with her?" He asked.

The fourteen-year-old boy smiled and got up from his seat. "I don't know where she is, but I bet I can find out."

"Good, because we're going to need her help." Nightwing confessed and Beast Boy nodded before running out.

"What do you want the rest of us to do?" Wonder Girl asked, standing up.

"That machine in the docking station isn't stable enough to use again. I got the schematics for it from Mod, and hopefully we'll be able to get it working again and get back our teammate. Each of you has a job…" After Nightwing assigned jobs to everyone (including Green Arrow, Shining Knight, and Vigilante) the heroes began to run off to do their parts. Nightwing began to walk out with them when Bart super-sped up to him.

"How'd you get all that information? We couldn't find anything in all the information in the Tower!"

"I hacked into the Bat computer in the cave."

"But how'd you get the schematics for Mad Mod's time machine? Robin said the League wouldn't let us see him."

Nightwing turned to the copper haired teen and just smiled. Bart was confused for a moment before his eyes started to brighten in realization. "No way! Did you…?"

"Yep," was his only reply as he walked towards the room where the Team was working away on the machine.

"Crash!" Bart drawled, following behind his leader.

**Raven: voiced by Tara Strong **

M'Gann lifted a heavy pipe through the air with her telekinesis and placed it down before Conner, who gave her a thumbs up and began adjusting it into the machine. The whole team was pitching in here and there, trying to do whatever they could to get Wild Flower back as quickly as possible. "M'Gann, I'm going to need some help over here," someone shouted and M'Gann turned and quickly flew over. While she was working she noticed a hooded figure in a long dark blue cape walk into the room with Beast Boy by their side. The shadow's cape covered its whole body, almost touched the floor and cast a black shadow over the top part of the figure's face in the shape of a bird's beak. Beast Boy was talking excitedly, obviously knowing whoever it was under the cloak. The hooded figure didn't respond and continued to walk, showing almost no emotion, except maybe annoyance at Garfield's constant chitchat. M'Gann didn't know who it was, so decided to float down and introduce herself. "I'm M'Gann," she announced, walking down to stand in front of Beast Boy.

"Charmed," the figure muttered in a bored tone, revealing that it was a female under the cloak. The shadow continued to walk passed, not bothering to introduce herself. M'Gann's mouth slightly dropped at the girl's impertinence and Garfield snickered as he followed behind her.

"Raven, I'm glad your here," Nightwing conceded, talking to the dark shadow. Raven nodded and pulled down her hood, revealing a young girl with almost unearthly appearances. She had pale, almost white skin and short, dark raven hair cut into an angled bob. A bright purple energy swirled in her dark eyes and a red gem sparkled on her forehead.

"What is it you need Nightwing?" She insisted, slightly annoyed that he'd contacted her for the first time in years since the team broke up just to ask something from her. The Titans tried to continue fighting after he'd left to become Nightwing, but the dynamics of the whole team fell apart. Missions never went the right way under Cyborg's leadership and it seemed like they were always fighting. Beast Boy left soon after to join Young Justice and Cyborg left to join the League. Raven and Starfire lived in the Tower for a couple of weeks after, but it wasn't the same. Starfire was heartbroken without Nightwing and Raven was angry that Beast Boy had left her behind to find M'Gann, so she left too. She traveled throughout the world, trying to strengthen her powers and find herself. She didn't know what happened to Starfire, but she heard a rumor that she'd formed a team called the Outlaws. Raven didn't really care. She always thought Starfire was a bit annoying. Anyway, it had been almost three years since she last heard from anyone, so she was surprised when she got a call from Beast Boy on her old T-communicator, asking for help.

"My friend's gone missing," Nightwing answered. "Mad Mod sent her back in time and we know generally where she is, but we can't seem to get an exact location. We're going to need your help." Raven nodded slowly.

'I'm sure he's faced problems like this before, so why has he been until now to ask for my help?' She thought before following her former leader over to Mod's machine. He began to tell her more about the situation, but she put up her hand and he stopped. "Beast Boy told me the whole thing on the way from Hong Kong. He also told me that Cyborg's been helping out. It's like a Titan family reunion," she retorted looking around. "I notice Starfire isn't here," she remarked, a slow smirk spreading over her pale face.

Nightwing's shoulders turned rigid before he returned in a deeper tone, "I haven't talked to Koriand'r since I left for Blüdhaven." He used her full name, odd.

"So, I'm guessing you didn't know?" She asked, insinuating something. Nightwing hummed in response. "Did you know she's hooking up with Jason?" Nightwing's eyes widened a bit at hearing about his adoptive younger brother, but that only revealed that he was surprised, not jealous. Raven gave up on getting a rouse out of him, so she changed the subject. "Well, if we know what time your friend's in and we have the machine working, I can use my astral projection to find exactly where your friend is. Do you have anything of hers?" Nightwing nodded, opened a small pocket in his utility belt, and handed a small object to her. Raven looked down at the small orange iPod and flipped it over to see an inscription. "To: Delmira. Some songs for the warrior in you. -Smirky" The raven haired girl raised a slender eyebrow as she looked up at Nightwing. The gift had to mean something considering Nightwing had kept it in his utility belt while his friend was missing. Raven didn't say anything about it and walked towards the machine.

Raven sat down on the platform and crossed her legs. She pressed the iPod tightly between her palms and closed her eyes. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos," she chanted quietly, and began to slowly rise into the air. Her cape billowed behind her as a black shadow in the shape of a bird crept out behind her cape and engulfed the platform. The heroes gathered stopped what they were doing and began to watch the young girl work. Then, a purple ghost of the girl zoomed out of her body and floated above her. The figure almost seemed to be asleep before its eyes quickly opened, eyes full of a bright, white light. The group gasped and stepped back, watching in fascination as Raven's spirit zoomed into the time machine's portal.

"Well that's the strangest thing I've ever seen," Vigilante said through his western accent as he tipped his hat back and looked up at Raven's floating figure. M'Gann nodded, still enthralled by the young girl's powers. She had to be no older than 16, yet she already displayed so much power. Garfield elbowed M'Gann in the ribs, and she quickly shut her mouth. "Pretty neat, huh?" She simply nodded.

An hour later Raven's spirit returned to her body and she slowly floated back towards the ground. Now that the machine was fixed, only a few people remained. Those people included: M'Gann, Kaldur and of course Wally and Nightwing. "Did you find her?" Wally asked, stepping up onto the platform. Raven nodded, her face blank.

"She's in some pretty bad shape, but she's alive," she said, and then walked to the keyboard of the time machine. The group watched over her shoulder as she began typing. "The machine's not going to be able to get you in the exact spot, so I'll get you there as closely as possible. Delmira's located in the cells at the west wing of the castle. But you need to be careful." Raven turned around and looked at the team. "She says the man holding her goes by the name of Vandal Savage and by the look on your faces, I'm guessing you know him."

"I have to get her out of there. Now," Nightwing proclaimed, already beginning to form a plan to get back his friend.

"What do you mean you?" Wally demanded, placing his hands on his hips.

M'Gann nodded. "We're going with you."

"No," Nightwing avowed, his voice dropping to a dangerous level. "If I hadn't sent her on that mission, she wouldn't be there in the first place. It's my responsibility and mine alone." He asserted, glaring at the red headed hero. Wally stepped up, challenging him. "You forget that we're her friends too, and there's no way I'm sitting behind, waiting for you to bring her back. I'm going with you." The dark haired hero glared down at his friend, trying to intimidate him into backing down. Wally just stood there, in his ridiculous looking pajamas, his jaw set. He wasn't taking no for an answer. Nightwing sighed and felt his shoulders relax. He knew he couldn't intimidate the speedster out of this. Not when it came to Delmira.

"Fine, but just you and me. We can't risk drawing anymore attention to ourselves. I'm sorry M'Gann," he apologized, looking down at the Alien girl. M'Gann really wanted to go, but she understood why Nightwing felt like he had to do this alone.

"Just bring her home," she remarked.

A few minutes later Flash and Nightwing stood onto the platform, dressed in some pretty ridiculous outfits. They were dressed in 18th century clothing of an upper class Englishmen, consisting of high waisted trousers, a button down vest, and a frock coat. "I feel silly," Flash confessed, pulling at the fluffy sleeves of his shirt.

"You're not supposed to feel cool," M'Gann replied, straightening the scarf around his neck. "You're supposed to blend in," she finished before stepping down from the platform and standing next to Kaldur.

"I still feel silly," he insisted, placing the tall black top hat over his red hair. Nightwing groaned from beside him and M'Gann smiled. Wally looked over to his childhood friend who had a stern set expression on his face. "We'll get Delmira back, I promise." Nightwing remained silent. A second passed before Wally reached out to grab Nightwing's hand.

"What are you doing?" He asked, pulling away.

"I was going to hold your hand so that we don't get separated."

Nightwing looked straight ahead and rebuked him in a monotone, "I'm not holding your hand." The machine began to whirl and start, and slowly a bright blue light started to form. A heavy wind started, causing things to fly around them. Wally held his hat tightly to his head as the wind roared, afraid that his hat would be blown away.

"You have 24 hours!" Kaldur shouted above the drowning winds. "After that the portal will begin to close and I can't guarantee we'll be able to get it working again. You have to find Wild Flower as quickly as possible."

Nightwing nodded, accepting the risks of the mission. If going back and not returning meant seeing Delmira again, he'd do it. He felt a hand clasp his and looked over to see that Wally had used his super speed to sneak a hand holding. The dark hero sighed, knowing he wouldn't win this argument. Wally smiled.

"Let's get back out friend!" He shouted. Aqualad typed into the computer and nodded. "Good luck and Godspeed," he implored as they vanished into the portal.

_**Chapter end. Guys AUTHOR'S NOTE PLEASE READ (flashing red arrows**_**): **

**Hold on Delmira, Flash and Nightwing are coming! So a bit of Nightwing's backstory was revealed. I know it wasn't completely necessary to talk about it, but the five-year time skip from Season 1 to Season 2 of Young Justice always bothered me. I always wondered how Dick went from Robin to Nightwing, so I decided to write my own interpretation of what happened. After Dick helped free the Justice League from Vandal Savage's control, he decided to take on more challenging missions. I always thought that after Dick fought the Leaguers, he wondered if he could do more. So, he stepped out of Batman's wing to find his own path. **_**Teen Titans **_**was five seasons, and there was a five-year time skip from YJ season 1 to 2 so I thought it would fit perfectly. **

**Here are the ages of everyone, if you're curious:**

**When Titans started: **

**Robin: 14**

**Starfire: 15**

**Raven: 11**

**Cyborg: 18**

**Beast Boy: 9**

**Ended:**

**Nightwing: 18**

**S: 20**

**R: 15**

**C: 23**

**BB: 13 **

**Terra: 15**

**And now they're all a year older. Sorry for the long note, but I thought I should clarify a few things. The picture above is what the original Titans look like now. Sadly, Terra wasn't mentioned, but you might see her and Starfire in the future, but I'm not sure yet. **

166


	29. Chapter 28 Rescue Me

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0077e839919e2f7958f8cb7443946a5e"I'd never felt so much pain until now./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a40ba18d0bfaab726a19f2906a417479"Once those awful men had captured me, they'd brought me to a castle, thrown me into a cell, shackled me to the wall, and left. They'd taken my utility belt, my boots, and my cloak, so now I couldn't escape. The metal bars of my cell were rusted and creaking. Rats scurried across the cold stone floor, eager to find food that not even I was allowed the privilege of. The only time I saw anyone after my capture was when the guard came in to torture me. I was so tired, so so tired. My body was weak and aching from standing chained for so long; after a couple of days, I gave up. I now hung there limply, and the skin around my wrists and ankles was blistered and bleeding. My once golden hair was covered in black dirt. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="00b292dc5da9f0b8e6085ab87375bbac"The dungeon's door slowly opened and light streamed into the dark room. I closed my eyes and slowly turned my head away, not used to seeing the light after so many days in the darkness. Heavy, slow footsteps crept towards me. The rusted bars of my cage door gently rattled and clanked open. My neck was too weak to lift my throbbing head. "Look at me," the voice commanded, cold with malice. I didn't obey. Why would I use the little energy I had left to look up at a man that would only cause me more pain? /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3d148b505522c2bbdbe4173f5e871cca"A heavy hand connected with my face, jolting it to the side and filling my mouth with blood. "Look at me!" he barked. I spit the red liquid out angrily into the cell and slowly lifted my head to look up at the monster. I prepared to look at him in defiance, but it faltered when I saw who was standing before me. It wasn't the guard, but instead the man with the scar, the man from my nightmares, the man who'd captured me. How could I stay strong against someone who had haunted me, even in my dreams? "You're quite a spitfire. Aren't you?" He mocked, gripping my face with one of his hands and bending down to look at me. "Now, why don't we see what's under that mask of yours?" He asked lowly, taking out his other hand unhurriedly. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d1bfa697893a7e5af73bd78e136614a3"I begged for him not to, my voice hoarse as I tried to jerk away from his grasp. He didn't listen to my plea and instead untied the band of my mask slowly, and it fell to the floor. The scarred man jerked my head back so he could look at me. Against my wishes tears slowly started to stream down my face. The man looked at my face with wide eyes, analyzing every feature, every scar, every burn that jagged across my face. A horrifying half-grin tugged at his face, replacing the look of quiet puzzlement./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f3de2b39fac767c3417fedd1a11ff50e""My..." he purred, leaning down to get within millimeters of my face. My muscles tightened instinctively at the proximity and I began to feel sick to my stomach. Without my mask, I felt exposed. So... pathetic. The man leaned down to my ear, his warm breath hitting against my neck and I shivered. "You are em style="box-sizing: border-box;"hideous/em," he hissed, before slowly pulling away to look at my appearance. An anger rose up within me and in an instant I lashed out against the shackles, trying with all my might to attack him. I felt my eyes change to their cat like manner as my animal side overtook me. "You monster!" I roared, my voice combined with the screech of a hawk, the roar of a lion, and the trumpet of an elephant. The man looked at me, a sick smile plastered across his face. That only angered me further, and I imagined myself tearing him to pieces. "Once I get out of here I'm going to rip out your throat, gouge out your eyes, and watch as the birds eat at your insides!" I yelled, ignoring the pain in my ankles and wrists as I pulled against them. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="04992ec6d68af5c573b4b0c0a274d60d"The man's amusement changed like a flash and he stomped towards me and in one quick motion slapped me across the face. The power behind it sent me back into the stone wall and I cried out. I felt a few ribs snap within me as I struggled to breath. "It would be best for you to remember who's in the cage here, witch." He spat as he began to walk out of the cell. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="708eab1566909c6182975bf4371d3780"My face burned. My voice cracked as I bellowed back at him. "I'm not a witch," I called. The dark man turned around and walked back towards me. I hated myself for flinching when he grabbed me. The man chuckled, not one of joy like M'Gann, not one of mirth innocence like Wally, and most definitely not one of mischief like Nightwing. It was one of revulsion. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0ff2df221a82b78d63a814b95459ee93""Oh I know you're not," he jeered, letting go of my face and standing back up to tower over me. My eyes widened. "It's a shame I can't keep you for my own personal gain. But if I am to stay in power, I've got to give those idiots out there what they want. What's a few deaths to me over an eternity of power?" He smiled. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7997d65014eab5c993c630918094e39c""But... how? What do you mean by... an eternity?" I asked./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c1c72f0045fbca71bab9cbae13dcacb5"The man smiled and leaned down to whisper hotly into my ear, "I'm immortal." My eyes widened in shock. But how? That couldn't be possible. Everyone died, it was a rule of life. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ab06698c070585fdddaf613adba495a4""What... what's your name?" I stuttered, trying to get out any valuable information out of him that I could get back to the Team when I escaped this. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"If/em I escaped this. The man thought for a moment before nodding. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ff1db6591df6e6772d28f52c240ea112""Well, there's no harm in telling you, seeing as you'll be dead tomorrow." He supposed it so easily, like he was talking about the weather. "My name is Vandal Savage... and I'll be your executioner," he cackled before placing his hands behind his back and walking out of my cell./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="220b20e9958173c35be727744c444b41"The door slammed shut and it was dark once again. Savage's laughter rang in my ears as I fell back down against my restraints, my head hung low. My eyes landed in a puddle of rain that had gathered on the stone floor of the cell. I stared blankly down at my reflection. My eyes held no sparkle, and the only clean part of my face was where I had shed tears. There was a cut on my lower lip, and the side of my face was bleeding. But that's not what broke my spirits. My face was scarred beyond repair. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="38a2d5fcb65853249dc5d9678097de8e"Red, angry marks danced across my skin. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2e4a79fd5933eb69ddad9f99a2e10f70"There was a fire when I was little that I couldn't escape. It left my face utterly deformed and uneven. Three long, vicious red scars snaked from my right brow, across the left eye, and to my jaw. They weren't marks of fire and I didn't know where they came from. But as far as I knew, they were given in that fire too./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="981862327a1c0024270a1daa08e4b47b"I don't think I realized the cruelty of mankind until now. And now, what I had been hiding my whole life had been revealed to a monster. A man that would lead to my death. I began to cry, hideous ugly tears and my body began to tremble as I howled. Vandal Savage had won. My spirit was broken. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d0138786e9d14b2a0b65687e1738cba5"㈆2 /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c72dd6671b21de3e45e96ca4485ca8b0"The door opened, waking me up from my uneasy sleep. Light streamed in. Keys rattled. Someone was thrown in the cell next to mine. A woman with a Scottish accent began shouting insults at the guards. The door closed and it was dark and quiet once again. I heard the woman slowly sit down into her cell and I closed my eyes again. "Woah, you musta done a wanda if they beat you up like that," the Scottish woman asserted. "What'd you do?" She asked, but I didn't respond. There was a pause. "I was thrown in for what those buggas call, 'treason against the king.' Really the big idiots just threw me in here for tellin the truth." Again, I didn't respond. "I'm Emma," She remarked calmly, her voice now sincere. I looked up. The woman had short brown hair that barely went passed her chin and looked to be my age, and despite being in this prison, she had a bright smile on her face. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ef38cadcc8862c992df4751a65a6f557""And what's that?" My voice cracked. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7dc7037d43cf484afd716ae898e0b14c"Emma smiled again and stood up. Unlike myself, she was free to walk around her cell. "That he's a load of horse manure and we'd be better with a democracy like those blokes in America." That made me smile, but then I looked skeptically back at Emma. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c790915d05d4c475b0ada17ed9472192""Why are you talking to me?" I asked. "Aren't you afraid?" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5a57f9cde30446d7e55816b2a1405baa""Afraid of what? Getting punished?" She laughed and nodded before sitting back down against the wall. That wasn't what I was talking about. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7826a5128475831fe349fad6653289ce""Nah. Besides, magic's not real. Those poor saps are just tryin to find somefin to give their life meanin. Which sadly has to be huntin others for bein different and accuse them of sorcery."/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="621733fc0e46494b83cb99aabc4508fd""But you aren't afraid of being further punished for talking to an accused sorceress?" I asked, deciding to not bring up that she should really be afraid of my hideous appearance. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="42671d88f33304a2119a9884deb03fdf"Emma looked down, her happy demeaner changing for the first time since I met her. "Well, I'm goin to be facin hangin tomorrow. So I'd say no. What worse can they do? Kill me sooner?" I didn't respond, because there was always something worse they could do to you. "Anyway," she said, upbeat again. "Let's not talk about those things. I'm Emma." /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1f808db6f7eff2d7299a52ef7212260d"'She already said that,' I thought, before realizing she wanted me to introduce myself. "I'm Delmira," I revealed, trying to stand up on wobbly legs to find a more comfortable position. My eyes softened. "I wish we could have met under better circumstances Emma." /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5776220289f4f0055404f03c9414d493""Yeah, me too," she murmured. It was silent again and I slunk back down into my chains. Emma rested her head in her hands. I had almost fallen asleep again when Emma spoke up. "I'm not tryin to sound blunt, but there's really no other way to say this. You got a weird accent. It's like British, but not. And you talk oddly. Where is this place you're from?" She implored./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e900ad66831244a7efea9adf7606df0c"I smiled. This Emma was quite a character. We were both in cells, facing death, and she was asking why I spoke strangely? How was I supposed to answer that? /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6e73865bd599491b79bb90bbb0a0cf65"'Well Emma, I'm from a land that Europeans haven't even been to yet and won't be for many years. Oh, then how am I here you say? Well that's a good question. You see, I landed here from the future when I was accidently sent into a portal by a crazy British person who wanted to go back in time and rule England. How is that possible you ask? Well, in about 150 or so years, there will be super powered people roaming the earth and a lot of them will want to use that power to take over the planet. Oh, but don't worry! There will be freaks like myself who will try and stop them!' Yeah, that would go over em style="box-sizing: border-box;"so /emwell. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4733a7865c407af72e7926e912e3d93b"I snickered to myself, realizing how foolish of an idea that sounded. But then I saw Emma, looking up at me with wide, eager eyes. 'What's the harm in telling her? Like Savage said, we'll be dead by morning,' I thought sickly. Seeing no point in lying to answer her questions, I conceded. I began my story from the beginning, the day the Justice League took me away. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9a9a72a37bc6f0a952d028ff3c89d520"Emma remained where she was sitting and didn't say a word as I told her my story. "No one's ever commented about my accent before," I informed my cell mate. "Of course, I didn't even know I had one. I guess that's one reason why I've stuck out like such a sore thumb," I joked, giving a pathetic attempt at a laugh. Emma didn't respond, and I looked up, hesitant to hear her words. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="f8f5c032bd1c46bdb6373a98c2145235""That's amazin!" Emma retorted, standing up quickly from her crouched position, and beginning to pace about. It was as if my story had electrified her. "Magic and powers. I've heard of a man who can eat and control fire, but nothin like that!" She enthused, waving her hands frantically about. I laughed at her enthusiasm, but quickly shushed her when I thought I heard guards approaching us. Emma fell back down to her seat and turned towards the wall as the guard's keys began to jingle as he unlocked the door. I slumped back down into my chains and hung my head low as I shut my eyes. The last thing we needed was more trouble. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d1d4f09bc3795087563ea0c5ea747084"The door opened and a tiny stream of light entered the dark jail cells. Emma shuffled her body closer to the wall and whimpered, feigning fear. I let my body go limp against the shackles and begged the man to spare me. He scoffed and slammed the door shut once again. My eyes glowed with a new found strength in the darkness as I looked back at Emma. There was no way I was dying in here, not like this. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="cc19748801f5a79f683c107bdaab9873"㈆2/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="08d82efdc78314f8d142d21c099819de"A pale light slipped through the small barred window of our prison, arising me from my broken sleep. A thin smile flashed across my lips as the moon's rays danced across the prison cell. The guard outside our cages was snoring loudly, in contrast to the gentle hum of Emma's quiet breathing as she drifted along in a peaceful slumber. I could feel the animals of the night begin to stir as the moon began to shine. How beautiful it would be, if I could only see it once again. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="885fd422d00c4467f06afd0a6b7af64e"The sharp noise of a bird shouting from above me caused my to jerk my head upward to stare at it. The pale light shown against the black feathers of the creature, and a bright purple seemed to flicker across its back. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"A Raven/em, I thought in wonder, weakly leaning forward to try and get a better glance. My chains rattled, and the raven cocked his head to the side, looking down at me. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Why are you here? Why do you mock me? /emI wondered. "Fly away, use your wings and fly," I begged, but it merely cocked its head to the other side. Why did it not understand?em style="box-sizing: border-box;" /emLyrics began to run through myem style="box-sizing: border-box;" /emheadem style="box-sizing: border-box;". Take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise. Blackbird singing in the dead of night. /em"Fly!" I screamed, my voice coming out hoarse and raw. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9a5dd6cddd88b845d1184e2e36c5c145"The raven cawed and flew suddenly at me, its wings flapping in the night air. I jerked my head down, afraid that it would claw out my eyes. But there was silence. The sound of flapping wings stopped, and I slowly lifted my head. The bird was gone and a shadowy figure was standing before me, its head cast to the floor in a dark cloak. I pressed my back up against the wall of my cell, its rough stones digging into my bare skin. "Who are you?" I growled, my nose curled up in anger. The figure took a step forward and slowly lifted up its hood, revealing a young girl beneath. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a11ac9ac32ab3b525cb2041ca1b5d0a9""My name is Raven, and I'm here to help you." /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fd8268469dab1dfd1b84265b4b62add7"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"All your life/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="fb36735f00627d1b92b4e97a3ff1f8d9"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"You were only waiting for this moment to be free./span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c3c02cced873f8b321d68138e0c31b21"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"Blackbird fly Blackbird fly/span/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="c546341174341e1fb73a90eaeb979760"span style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"Into the light of the dark black night./span/p 


	30. Chapter 29 Ravens in the Night

p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b170f1d50d79417ba2c9f8f6963c04de""My name is Raven, and I'm here to help you." Words from a stranger have never sounded so sweet. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="5c08cb103a15264f1118b2a6b6f8ef36""How do I know you are not lying?" I ask with furrowed brows, taking a step forward against my shackles to take a better glance at the girl. She nodded, and pulled out her arms from beneath her cloak, revealing her uniform. It was made of a dark blue leotard with purple tights and a golden belt and upper arm band covered in red gems. She stepped towards me and threw an arm forward. On instinct, I jerked forward and my lips curled up in a growl. Raven stepped back quickly, her short purple hair jerking in her movement. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="7bba84c9879fc061d2d7c24bf44d5ee5""I apologize," she said, her voice low and rugged. "I merely wanted to show you this," she said and reached her arm cautiously forward again, her palm up. I looked at her under a stern eye before turning my nose down to look at her small, ghostly pale hand. It opened to reveal a tiny, square metal object. The moonlight shown against its orange paint, and gold lettering twinkled to reveal a familiar message. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b809d868d52d2419d5da6bfb07f1f13b""For the warrior in you," I mumbled, my voice slowly breaking. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"They've found me... they've finally found me/em. My laugh was a mix of so many emotions and a small tear quickly slid from my eyes. Raven's hand pulled away and I looked back up at her, a weak smile adorning my lips. Her dark eyes swirled with a purple energy and the red gem on her forehead glowed. Raven lifted her other hand and a black energy illuminated around it before being sent to the cuffs around my wrists and ankles. They quickly opened and I attempted to stand, but my knees buckled underneath me and I tumbled forward. Arms wrapped around me and I looked up to see Raven. Her face was still as blank as the first time I saw her, but it seemed as though she was apologizing. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e97c99d16f7a8a10bf011686a508c75b"She helped me stand and I mumbled a thank you before looking around my cell. Emma was still sleeping, and the guard outside was still snoring loudly. My eyes flickered around, looking for my mask before I saw it laying thrown against the wall of my cell. Raven must have seen it too, for her black energy wrapped around it and lifted it up into the air. It landed into her palm and I looked back at her, feeling slightly possessive over my mask. Actually really possessive, but then she handed it over to me and the feeling vanished. "Thank you," I mumbled again, ducking my head and tying the mask securely around my crown. Although my body was weak and some of my self-assurance was gone, I felt slightly empowered once again. My head lifted and I stood up straight. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="557f1378177be279587ef474b9575c1f""Down the hall to the right is where they are keeping your cloak and utility belt. I've already unlocked the door to your cell and there is no doubt that someone from Young Justice will be here soon to help you," Raven said before stepping away and placing her hood over her head. It cast a black, raven like shape over the top half of her face and her eyes were now a glowing white. "Good luck," she said, her voice slightly deeper than before, probably something to do with the hood. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ef0908782144d720d9235eb3e846cbf3"The black cloak covered her body once again and she turned to disappear. "Raven!" I said lowly, catching her attention./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="2ad43f4643cafe7c0bfe2323da00830f""Yes?" /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b74c38375c45fac8893aa850e7f3fe83""Why weren't you... disgusted or-or surprised when you saw the um..." I motioned to my face, looking awkwardly back at the girl. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d0a14d266375090a07a54cfd8f38c770""Let's just say, I know what its like to be afraid of others finding out who you really are," she confessed. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="96f8a279447ac32a3f513e308595081d"I nodded. "But um... would you mind not telling anyone about the um..." I paused, reaching my hand up to graze my fingertips across the fur of my mask. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="114cc198c822df4c481fbffbddc9f58a""Of course," she said sincerely before turning around and disappearing into the shadows. I stood there for a moment before turning around and rushing quietly out of my cell. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555; text-align: center;" data-p-id="cc19748801f5a79f683c107bdaab9873"㈆2/p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a870c0616c7c7c0c0619567b11bba5e9"The heavy metal door of the cells creaked open and I peeped my head out around the corner. The guard was asleep in his seat, which was propelled on two legs against the wall. A dribble of drool was slipping down the side of his face, which moved every time a heavy snore escaped his mouth. The halls of the castle were lit by the flickering light of the torches and a draft chilled the stones against my bare feet. I stepped out of the threshold and the door slammed shut behind me. I held my breath as the guard stirred. His breathing changed and he mumbled something in his sleep, but didn't awake. I let out a sigh of relief and walked down the corridor before taking a right. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="1213ab4ee90353dab954e4dd3222db05"The door slowly opened and I glanced inside. The room was dark, and I took a quiet step inside. Seeing my boots, utility belt, and cloak placed on the table to the side, I stepped closer. My heart was speeding up with every step I took. Clouds drifted apart in the sky and moonlight suddenly streamed in through the thin curtains. Something stirred. I stopped midway through placing on my boots and looked up. A figure was sleeping beneath the covers of a large bed. The broad shoulders, the pitch black, scraggly hair; the scared features. There was no doubt who this figure was. I was in the room of Vandal Savage. The monster was sleeping right before me. My breathing caught in my throat before adrenaline kicked in and I began to quickly zip up my black boots./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="e62bb821874d5f30b59843bcd6298b6c"Grabbing my brown cloak and clasping my utility belt around my waist, I rushed out of the room and down the hall once again. The door slammed behind me and I panicked. Soldiers began shouting in the distance and I turned around looking for any way to escape, but then I stopped. em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Emma. /emThe rushing of footsteps could be heard and I quickly turned around, my cloak rushing out behind me. The guard from before was now awake, looking dazedly around to see what all the panic was about. His eyes widened when he saw me rush toward him, but he didn't have time to react before I opened the heavy door to my cell. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="0dbe9b4b29724962b25580268ddda3ff"Emma was now awake, her brown hair stuck up in odd angles and her movement sluggish from sleep. "How'd ya get out?" She drawled, attempting to sit up from her heavy shackles. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ba53f56f9776b61128f3bb9a4b07a4b8""No time for that," I told her, bending down to try and unlock the chains. My hands fumbled against the locks, but there was no way I was getting her out of these without a key. "I'll be right back. I have to get the key," I whispered and began to turn around before Emma grabbed onto my cloak and turned me around. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="6c15e76f73ba7cf89b9f47e03bff3061""We don't have time. You have to go," she pleaded, her hands now clenching mine. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d3fafe9e570b8551d8bfff6b59c7c50c""I'm not abandoning you," I said appalled. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="022a104d2cb35e4642a25bf52c19eac8""I didn't say that," she defended. "But there's no way we're both getting out of here. You have the chance to escape. Take it." The footsteps and shouts of the soldiers got louder and the guard outside began to pound on the door. "Go! Go!" She shouted and tears began to stream down her pale face. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="ec4622183908ff3bdc2204cf433398f3"I forced myself to stand up, and my hands slowly left the grip of Emma's. "I'll be back for you. I promise!" I shouted before whipping around and scurrying out of the door. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="310017730394338b8dca7370515d1476"The first thing I saw when I stepped out was a fist coming towards me. I quickly ducked out of it and turned away. The guard didn't have enough time to react and his fist connected with the metal door. He cried out and clutched his hand. I took that opportunity to turn behind him and jam my knee into the back of his leg, sending him sprawling to the floor. He attempted to get up and I placed my boot on the spine of his back before sending a quick kick to his temple, effectively knocking him out. The shouts of the guards drew closer and I turned and quickly ran down the hallway. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="9d3974a5edcd242ecd8107c6bfa4a0f1""Halt!" A guard shouted and I whipped around to see a riffle aimed directly at me. I screeched as it fired and the bullet landed directly above my head and into the stone wall, deafening my left ear. A sharp ringing sounded in my head and the corridor began to spin. I continued to run as fast as I could. When I rounded another corner, I ran into someone and fell backward before their large, rough hands grabbed my elbows and pulled me flush against them. I looked up to see the black, shark like eyes of the savage that captured me. I pulled out quickly and ran back down the hallway. Savage sneered behind me and his dark chuckle rang through out the castle. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="b0d480b4608987a94620303f3b73d77c"em style="box-sizing: border-box;"Why did he let me go so easily?/em I questioned myself as I flew out of the castle and into the streets of the village. I could hear the guards shout after me as I rounded a corner. The sun was just beginning to peak over the hills and light its way across the dark grounds. Because of the early hours, almost no one was on the street, which was good because that meant that no one could get in my way or get hurt. But that was also bad because that meant it would be that much harder to blend in. I turned a corner, away from the lights of the armed men and into the darkness of the shadows. The voices of the soldiers faded away and my shoulders relaxed before I felt someone grab me by the arms and pull me into an alleyway. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="21336ad3bddd1ad0eb71df095ab50fe9"Screaming, I attempted to pull away from them. "Let me go!" I screeched, ducking my head and pulling with all my might away from my snatcher. But my arms were weak from the torment at the castle and whoever was holding me was much stronger. They were dressed in a pale green jacket, and a heavy black top hat was covering their eyes. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="92f1fa8a9a91ff0f17a3bf56e59339b7""Delmira, it's me!" They hushed, loosening their grip on my blistered wrists. The stranger lifted up their top hat to reveal a set of bright green eyes and striking red hair. I stopped resisting and the man slowly released me. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="a4e3144122ca2ae6908ab98c844e187d""Wally!" I breathed and threw my arms around him in a hug. Wally's slender arms wrapped around my waist. He buried his face into my neck and took a shallow breath. I'd never noticed how muscular his frame was before. Wally wasn't built like Superboy or Aqualad or even Nightwing, but had more of a runner's frame. His limbs were slender, but powerful and toned. And I'd missed him. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="651a8498d1d36729a77e7abc7a6f87db"I was about to ask him if he was the only one that had come when I heard someone cough behind me. Wally looked up and I turned. A young man in a purple frock coat was looking out from the alleyway and into the streets. Long black hair escaped his top hat and reached his shirt collar. He had a slender waist, but his shoulders were wide and strong. My eyes trailed down to the large callouses that decorated his hands. "Nightwing?" I asked, stepping hesitantly up to him. The man turned around and a large smile reached his lips. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="27800496e519481faa6c6c8d6fb0a44d""Flower," he whispered, rushing towards me. Wally's arms slipped away from my waist as I turned away and took a hesitant step forward before running to meet Nightwing's opened arms. When I was a step away from him, he stopped and took a step back. My stomach burned and did butterflies as I realized what I was about to do. Nightwing looked down at me, the white lenses of his mask covering up any emotion that he might be feeling, and his arms fell to his side. "Its... good to see you safe and sound," he said as I turned away. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4d8b9c1cdacab66a01bc03ae3c2999e5"Wally looked over to me with a waned expression before glancing back at Nightwing. A look of distaste fell over his face before it was quickly hidden and he approached me. "Alright, let's go," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder and pulling me further into the alley. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="4053b29a5643f076ec3c1ebe2778cdfd""What? We can't." I said appalled as I pulled out of his grip./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d89921705b5971652e0c8d1fb3123e62""What do you mean we can't?" The speedster bellowed, looking back at me with wide eyes. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="091580c3d3f04af03fdce01268f11520""My friend is still trapped there. We have to save her!" My head whipped back at Nightwing, trying to get someone to understand. "We can't just leave her," I begged. Nightwing looked contemplative before he looked up at me and his expression turned soft. Wally shook his head, but Nightwing nodded. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="530b3fb01d5051d3ab9585526e2cc807""Alright," he agreed and I smiled./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="3f9b8739a684b693564e7df536d69f95""You got to be kidding me!" Wally shouted, pulling me back to look at him. "You've got to be kidding me! We're running on a limited amount of time. And you know we can't mess with time. We're jeopardizing it by just being here!" He defended, but I wouldn't have heard him if he had been screaming it. /p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="d481ca2cf6d4fd7520c97d7a0c014286"Nightwing looked down at me for a long time before turning back to Wally and shrugging his shoulders, a goofy smile on his lips. The redhead turned around and threw his hands up into the air before quickly turning back to us. He threw off his top hat and ran his hands over his freckled face and through his hair./p  
p style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px 0px 24px; font-family: 'Source Sans Pro', 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 24px; font-size: 18px; padding: 0px; color: #555555;" data-p-id="11b94df07ffa7c93270836866dd08adb""Fine, fine," he said, nodding. "Let's do this."/p 


	31. Chapter 30 Escape

Half an hour later, the three of us were in Savage's castle and were fighting our way through the guards.

Nightwing took out his escrima sticks and sent a powerful strike to the guard he was currently combatting. Compared to Nightwing's ninja skills, these guys wouldn't stand a chance. I on the other hand, was having a bit of trouble. Usually this would be easy, but I had been tortured for days, and it was taking its toll.

I slung my arm out to land a punch, but the guard threw it away and sent a sharp kick to my stomach, sending me sprawling into the wall behind me. White dots clouded my vision, making my head spin. I stumbled away from the wall and ducked, barely missing the sharp tip of a sword as it whizzed past my face. My balance failed and I landed in a heap on the floor, my body weak from fatigue. The guard slowly marched towards me, like a tiger who had caught his prey, his step slow and methodical.

Nightwing rushed towards me, for his guard now lay defeated on the floor of the castle. The man with the night black hair quickly connected his black escrima sticks into a long staff and rushed towards me, a look of determination now etched across his forehead. He roughly turned the man away from me, before engaging in a complex dual of sorts between the guard.

Nightwing's fighting style was something I had never seen before. It was a beautiful mirage of combined skill sets, so powerful and concise, yet graceful. It was as if he danced across the battlefield, and every move he took was for its own purpose and reason. Not to mention it seemed like he was always two steps ahead of whoever he was facing.

While I watched in wonder, my other companion punched the guard in front of him, grabbed the guard's head and brought it down against his knee before throwing the guard forward. The man's eyes rolled into his head and he slumped against the wall unconscious. The speedster then rushed towards me and picked me up at the elbow to pull me away.

Nightwing whipped his staff out and knocked the guard who had been attacking me unconscious before joining Wally and I down the corridor, quickly making our way back to the cells where I had been tortured.

My stomach churned as I looked back at the door to the cells. Visions of my days spent there flashed through my mind and I felt my head spin. Pain. So much pain. Disgrace. Screams in the dead of the night. A man with a sinister smile and no remorse. My nails dug into the flesh of my hands repeatedly, trying to distract me from the pain I was feeling. Savage's face kept rushing through my mind.

I reached my hand up and brushed it against the rough wood of the door. "Now, why don't we see what's under that mask of yours?" A voice-his voice- whispered hotly against my ear, a cruel chuckle leaving his lips. "My…" he breathed, his lips brushing against my cheek lightly, sending sickening shivers down my spine. "You are hideous." I whipped my head back, but only Wally was there. His green eyes looked back at me with confusion and I took a step back, my hands shaking at my side. Tears began to build in my eyes.

Then a firm hand was placed on my shoulder and I flinched back to see Nightwing, his jaw set and his brows pulled forward with concern. He didn't say anything, but I knew he wanted to help, to provide some sort of reassurance, if he only knew how. I smiled and lifted my hand up to place it over his. I took in a shuddering breath before looking back at the large door. Mustering up all the courage I had left, I threw the door open and walked in.

A young woman in rags and chains stood up quickly when she heard the door rattle open. Large pieces of hair flew in disarray around her head and her eyes were bloodshot. The woman's shoulders were squared in a defensive position before it melted and her expression faded into surprise and relief. Tears of joy flew from her eyes and she flashed a brilliant smile. I quickly took out the key I had lifted from a guard and rushed towards her, Wally and Nightwing following closely behind me. Once the shackles were opened, I wrapped my arms tightly around her. "I'm so glad you're okay!" I cried, reluctantly pulling away from my friend. Emma smiled and was about to say something before she noticed my teammates behind me.

"And who're these two?" She drawled, sending a cool smile to the boys behind me. My laugh felt strange on my lips, but I welcomed it as I turned around and pointed to me friends.

"This is Wally." Wally sent a kind smile and tipped his top hat.

"And uh... this is…"

"Nightwing." My mentor stated in a dull voice, turning back quickly to watch the door.

"Yeah," I mumbled, my arms falling to my side. "And this is my cellmate Emma." Said person then twinkled her fingers in a wave.

It was silent for a moment before the sickening sound of footsteps approaching began to increase into a dull thunder. The shouts of many men neared our position. "We need to go!" Nightwing commanded, ushering the rest of the group ahead of him. I nodded and grabbed Emma's hand, pulling us out the door first. As we passed Wally, Emma smiled flirtatiously and winked back at him. Wally looked back at her in surprise before a sheepish smile flew across his face. Annoyed beyond words, I scoffed and jerked my friend into the corridor.

We fought the soldiers standing outside the doorway courageously before making our way back outside the castle. It took a while because Wally refused to use his powers (something about messing up the timeline, I don't really know), but eventually we made it through. But there was something itching in the back of all our minds. We had faced Savage again, and again he had let us through without much resistance. That sick smile of his made me nervous. Why did it seem we were getting away so easily?

When we made it to the location of where the portal would open Emma was gone, safely tucked away in a secure spot where no one would find her. Nightwing, Wally, and I were in a large clearing, and the sun was slowly rising to welcome the new day in a warm embrace. Rays of deep golden orange kissed the darkened horizon, creating a beautiful contrast of dark blues and a bright orange. I took in a breath of the clear morning air and stared up at the sky. My arms were spread wide and I twirled around, my boots digging in the soil and a smile on my lips. It felt so good to be free again. A swirling wind whipped. A portal of blue energy began to form around us. My heart swelled with joy. I could feel my strength slowly returning. We were finally going home.

I felt someone grab onto my hand and lace their fingers through mine. Wally stood by me with a grin on his face and a gleam in his eyes. The wind picked up his hair and it swirled around him in a flame of red. We smiled back at each other and stepped towards the portal. Before we could reach our exit home, a thought occurred to me and I stopped suddenly. Turning around, I looked in horror to see the man I had fled from standing before me. Nightwing was struggling in the monster's grasp, his teeth were bared as a thick knife pressed tightly against his neck, his face somehow stoic. My hand left Wally's and I took a step forward. "Let him go," I snarled.

A grimace twisted across the monster's scarred face. "For a trade," he said darkly, pressing the blade deeper into Nightwing's neck. The blade punctured the pale skin, and a red trickle of blood slipped down his throat. "I'll give you back your friend, if you come back with me," he demanded.

"Wild Flower, don't do this." He croaked. Savage twisted Nightwing's arm back in an odd angle and my friend stopped.

"Let the lady make her own decisions," he seethed, twisting harder. There was a sickening snap and Nightwing cried out, a look of anguish on his face. My heart jolted and I blurted out.

"Alright. Alright! I'll do it," I screamed. "Just, please, don't hurt him." My chest heaved as my heart jolted in my chest. Savage perked his head to the side, an inimical look on his face.

I took a step forward, but Wally pulled me back.

"Delmira," he whispered. "don't do something you'll regret." My eyes boar down into his.

"I'm not," I snarled, jerking out of his grasp and stepping carefully forward into the arms of the man who had caused me so much pain. Savage snickered and released Nightwing, throwing him forward into the dirt. Nightwing stumbled before slowly standing up. I kept my eyes forward as his feet crunched against the dry grass and he walked passed me. Savage was standing with a cocky smirk on his pale lips, his eyes flitting up and down my body with an unrestrained hunger. I felt sick, but managed to keep walking forward. Three men who were unnoticed before were standing guard at Savage's flanks.

I stepped next to Savage and looked at the men surrounding us. The man behind me grabbed me roughly and jerked my hands behind my back. I turned and watched as he tied my hands. He looked almost normal, but something told me that he wasn't. The man to my right was a tall, lanky man, with pale orange hair and sickly pale skin. The final man was the shortest of all of us and was covered in a black shade. The only thing that could be seen were his eyes, which were a bright red color.

I focused forward to see Nightwing had safely reached Wally's side. Wally looked sadly back at me, his bright green eyes now pale and his shoulders slumped forward. Nightwing stood beside him, his mask covering the emotions in his eyes and his face clear of all emotion. He was putting on a brave face, for me.

I smiled at them, before turning to the man behind me. My smile hadn't faltered and he looked at me in confusion before realization hit him. His mouth opened to warn Savage, but before he could, I head butted him.

I felt his nose crunch under my forehead and in his weakened state, I didn't hesitate to send a sharp kick to his most priced possession. It was a dirty move, but I was tired of playing by the rules.

The man doubled over and I went to get away, but he still had a tenacious grip on my arms. I struggled against his grip as Nightwing and Wally ran towards us.

The man pulled my hands upwards until I let out a quiet gasp of pain. My shoulders popped as a fiery pain rushed through them. "Can't escape this time," he said, leaning closer to whisper in my ear, his voice thick in a Scottish accent. He hissed, "little b-" with those words came anger. My heartbeat quickened and the blood in my veins pumped faster. I roared and pulled away to face him.

A large gash was on the bridge of his nose, and it now rested crookedly on his face. "Your friends won't be able to save you. Once Master takes you back to the castle, he'll kill your friends, right in front of you, and there'll be nothing you can do to stop it." The Scot smiled, his teeth covered in red blood. "Then he'll have his way with you, but don't worry…" I fisted my hands, which were still tied behind my back. "Maybe afterwards you and I could have some… fun," he said huskily, licking his large lips. My jaw tightened and I kicked the man away from me. He only began to laugh.

I jumped upwards, tucking my feet to my chest and pulling my hands from behind my back, under my feet and forward. My feet landed lightly back on the ground and my bound hands were now in front of me. I glared back at him, and I roared once again. My teeth exposed as a low grumble traveled up my throat. My hands snapped apart, effectively breaking the rope that bound my hands. The rope fell to the ground, and the man's laughter seized as I began to take slow steps towards him. "You're going to regret that," I said darkly, but my voice was not my own. I jumped forward, my nails replaced with claws much sharper.

I jumped forward, tackling the man to the floor. I began to slash at him, my claws tearing into the soft flesh of his arms. The man's struggled under my hold and cried out, but I continued to attack him, my anger taking control. I didn't know what had come over me, but I somehow knew that it was wrong.

And the worst part, I was enjoying it. The power that was running through my veins was drawing me closer and closer towards the edge. But I didn't care. This feeling was too great.

He tried to push me off, but I used my strength to keep his hands by his side. The power that rushed through me was succulent and empowering. I wanted more. So I reached my hand into the air, ready to send the final blow with a simple cut to his neck.

"Wild Flower!" A deep voice commanded, interrupting my amusing activity. Who would dare interfere with this?

I twisted my head to the side, my hair whipping around me and I hissed with bared teeth, my canines now the fangs of a cat as I faced the man. It was Nightwing. He was gripping his escrima sticks tightly and was looking at me with anger, but there was something else hidden beneath. Shame. And even worse, fear. Fear of me.

"Nightwing…" I thought, realizing what I had just done. I turned my head to the side and hissed in pain. The fangs in my teeth slowly turned back to normal, and I blinked as my eyes transitioned back to their original look. I stood off of the man and looked down at my hands.

"Oh my God…" I whispered under my breath. My claws faded away into normal nails, but my hands were covered in the man's blood. I cried out, backing away from my disaster. "It happened. Again," I bellowed, tears beginning to form in my eyes. After all my hard work on my fighting and self control. It had happened again.

I furiously wiped the blood onto my uniform, trying desperately to erase the horrible thing that I had done. Nightwing stepped towards me slowly, his arm reaching out, but I pulled away. "Don't. I- I don't want to hurt you," I pleaded, my voice trembling.

"Flower, please look at me," he said, his voice low and kind. I stopped what I was doing and looked back at him. He stepped forward, his face was now gentle, and all the fear he had early had faded away into concern. How could he forgive so easily?

"Well, this is just so warming, but I'd really like to finish this," a voice said and I looked back from Nightwing in surprise. The man I had attacked was standing before us, his face and arms clear from any kind of wound. How had he healed so quickly?

"What? You didn't think you were the only one's with powers, did you?" Savage said, stepping up beside the man who had healed. He chuckled, throwing his head back quickly before turning serious. "Get them."

"With pleasure," the man in the black shade said, running towards Nightwing with a katana in each hand and a smirk on his face. Nightwing jumped back and whipped out his escrima sticks. Soon the two began to battle in a quick, complex system of fighting.

The man with the pale orange hair looked back at me hesitantly before fire started to appear on his arms. The flames matched his pale orange hair. So Emma's tale about the man with the fire was true. Flashes of a house in flames flashed across my mind and I was hesitant to encounter him. Luckily, Wally stepped beside me and took up the challenge. "I think its time to use those powers of yours," I whispered, taking a footstep back and taking out my long bo.

"Yeah, I think so," he said, throwing his top hat to the side and forming in a ready position before speeding off in a trail of yellow lightning. That left me with the man I had attacked.

"Well, this'll be fun," he joked.

I took in a deep breath to steady myself before running towards him. I threw my silver bo staff out to hit him, but he blocked it by throwing out his forearm. Metal braces were around both his forearms and he used them to push against my staff and toss me away. He whipped out a fist, and I ducked under his arm before sending two quick jabs to his rib cage. The man spun around and threw a punch towards me. I turned my body to dodge, but the cuffs on his arms managed to cut through my mask and into the skin of my left cheek. I whipped my staff out again and jabbed at his chest. He sprawled backwards and I attacked him once again. I swung my right fist towards his face, faking the motion so that he'd believe I was aiming for his nose again. Seconds before his arm moved towards me to block me from hitting him, I swung out my other arm and placed a solid hit to his abdomen.

I ducked under his arm again to dodge the hand he brought up and stood behind him before dropping to the floor and swinging out my feet, knocking the support out from his ankles so that he fell to the ground. Before he could land, there was a puff of gray smoke, and he disappeared.

"What the…" I stood up quickly from the ground, looking around to try and find the man I was earlier attacking. There was barely time to think before a sharp object pointed into my spine and a small gasp of pain escaped my throat.

"What? You didn't think I got here simply by my good looks, did you?" he asked. I gritted my teeth and struggled against his grasp before bending my legs and jumping up into the air. In a quick motion I flipped over the teleporter.

Now I was the one holding him hostage. "Sorry, but you're not my type," I stated.

The man merely smirked, and in a puff of smoke, he was gone.

Wally had been fighting the pale man with the fire about ten yards away. And he had put up a good fight, but it was hard to run without his suit and the Fire Man had gotten a few throws in. Burn marks danced across Wally's suit and black soot was sprinkled into his red hair. He raced across the plain before a thought occurred to him and he began to run in a circle around the Fire Man, creating a vortex around his enemy. The man's air cut off and he grabbed his throat as he started to choke. The flames on his arms started to fade away. That's when I realized what Wally was doing. No oxygen. No flame. The Fire Man soon passed out unconscious, and the speedster stopped.

Wally placed his hands on his hips and looked down at the man before looking up at me. A smile reached his lips. I was about to smile back when a puff of smoke appeared and the teleporter materialized behind him suddenly. There was a sardonic smile on his face and the rising sun reflected a bright light in his hands. The gleaming was from a knife hidden in his hand. Wally turned back and before he could react, the knife flew into his chest and he stumbled back into the dirt. The teleporting man smiled before disappearing again in a puff of smoke.

"Flash!" I screamed, running toward my friend.


	32. Chapter 31 Blackbirds Fall

"Flash!" I screamed, running toward my friend. I flew onto my knees and pulled my red headed friend up out of the dirt. "Are you okay?" I whispered, placing a gloved hand behind his back. Wally coughed and looked up at me. Slowly, I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and helped him stand. As we stood, Wally gasped out and placed a hand quickly over his abdomen. A warm liquid was seeping through his vest and I pulled his hand away to see it soaked with blood. Before I could form a coherent sentence, Wally was stopping me.

"Delmira, we've got bigger things to worry about. I'll heal quickly, but that man," Wally paused, his voice rugged as he tried to catch his breath. "He's got our tie back to our time. He took it from me. Without it, we're not going to be able to return home." He paused to catch his breath again. His weight was increasing on me as his legs weakened. "You've got to get it back." I nodded hastily, before slowly placing Wally back onto the floor of the clearing.

I looked around. Nightwing was still fighting the shaded man, and it looked like they were pretty equally matched. Tares and cuts were sporadically placed across Nightwing's uniform and one of his arms dangled sluggishly to the side. There was no way he'd be able to help me with this.

I searched all around me before seeing the object of my desire. Traveller was talking to Savage; a small handheld object grasped tightly in his hand. Savage looked over towards me and Traveller quickly stopped talking to follow his master's gaze. Savage whispered something to him, his gaze never leaving my eyes. The teleporting man nodded before shooting into the air.

I growled out before looking around the clearing. The portal was getting smaller and smaller and neither Nightwing or Flash could fly. It was up to me. I took a deep breath and slowly closed my eyes. My hands opened and I pointed my palms upward towards the air. My heart began to slow as I took deep breathes. If I was going to do this, I had to do it right. Short breathing through the nose, and exhaling slowly through the mouth. Short breathing through the nose, exhaling through the mouth. My mind began to clear.

"mbururuko ye shiri," I said lowly, my voice deep and breathy. Seconds after those words I felt my spine shift back and a red hot heat erupted from my shoulder blades. I fell kneeling to the ground. My heart beat increased suddenly. A bird's cry erupted from my throat and I clenched my hands so hard that my knuckles turned white. I'd only felt this pain once before, in training when I was 14 years old. It had happened only once, and I'd prayed that that would be the final time, but we needed it. We needed my wings.

Deep brown feathers began to sprout from my back. The bone in my spine grew out into slender, hollow bones, decorated with long sleek feathers. In mere seconds the horrible pain stopped and the dark brown and black wings were fully out. I stood up from my place on the ground, my wings brushing against the dirt of the floor. Savage looked at me with wonderment and admiration. The transporter flying above me stopped and before he could collect his thoughts, I flew into the air.

The wind whipped around me, stirring the rich brown feathers of my wings. I wobbled for a moment in the air, my hands flying out wildly in an attempt to steady myself. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Slowly the sound of fighting below me faded. The air played beautiful music as it slipped through my feathers. I reached my arms slowly out into the air, feeling the cool morning air as it slipped through my fingers. The rising sun warmed my freezing skin. Birds chirped in the distance as they woke for a new day.

A cry in the distance broke my reverie. "Delmira!" The voice shouted. It was Wally.

My eyes shot open. The green shone against the deep blue hue of my eyes. My enemy flew ahead of me, an arrogant smirk on his face and the object clutched in his hands. There was no way he was escaping.  
My large brown wings began to beat faster, pushing the air back as it shifted around me. My golden hair tickled my face as it flew in strange patterns across the sky. My hands fisted to the side before I flew, sailing across the sky.

The man must have not anticipated my speed and I rammed into him from behind, sending us spiraling across the landscape. Traveler tried to push me away and I wrapped my arms tenaciously around his shoulders, preventing him from teleporting away from danger. We tumbled forward, our bodies flipping over and over in somersaults. My wings felt like they were about to tear out from their sockets, but the last thing I was going to do was let go, and give up my chance of returning home.

I threw the man below me and pinned his hands above his head. He struggled to fight against me as we fell out of the air and toward the ground below. My eyes scan his body feverishly before they land on the object of my desire, which is held tightly in his palm. I squeeze his wrist tightly, but the man is unwilling to let go. I grit my teeth before squeezing tighter. There's a snap and the man cries out, the object flying out of his hand and forward into the air. The object is revealed to be my iPod.

I reach out to grab it, but when I release the man's hand he grabs my throat and my grip on his other hand loosens. He flips me over so that my back is now facing the ground below us, keeping my hand out of reach of my ticket home.

The man's grip on my neck tightens, constricting air from getting to my lungs as he slowly crushed my windpipe. Through the haze I manage to open my wings, which act as a parachute as we fly backwards into the air again. I reach out, and my fingertips brush against the cool metal of my music player. The man squeezes my neck tighter and white dots start to cloud my vision as my mind continues to be deprived of oxygen.

My hands claw at my neck and I try desperately to breath freely once again, but I refuse to use my powers. I won't use them to hurt him. I can't take the risk of loosing control again.

"Looks like the little bird can't fly," he said pompously, grinning wickedly above me.

My eyes were burning with tears and my lungs from oxygen deprivation, but somehow I manage to react. Turning the corner of my left wing, we flip forward to change positions and I'm now above him. With the remaining of my strength, I send a sharp kick to my opponent's abdomen. His grip drops from around my neck and he falls away from me as I spread my wings out to their full length once again. I lurch up, trying desperately to get oxygen back into my lungs. My deep brown wings beat slowly back and forth as I watch the man fall toward the ground below. My lips quirk up in a small smile as I remain in my position in the air. My feet dangle down below me. "You'll never know if you can fly, unless you take the risk of-"

I couldn't finish what I was about to say. Two shots fly out through the air and I cry out. A flock of birds match my cry and fly rapidly out of the tree tops and into the morning sky. Pain sears through my spine and it feels like fire spreading through my veins. Suddenly, I can't move my wings and I begin to fall out of the sky. Black feathers fly around me. The ground is suddenly so much nearer. So, so much nearer. Then I realize. I'm falling and I won't be able to stop. The wind whips around me, but this time, it's not so welcoming. My hair whips my face painfully and somehow the air is colder.

Then it happens. Gravity finally takes over and I land on the ground with a loud snap. The dark blue sky begins to blur with the pale orange of the sun and I hear muffled shouting, but I can't focus on that through the pain. The sickening pain. I gasp out and my body jerks forward, enable to catch my breath. Every breath I attempt to take burns as it catches in my lungs.

Blood and black and brown feathers litter the ground. Someone ran towards me, their tall body looming over me as I lay immovable on the ground. Dark hair falls over his face, which is covered by a uniquely shaped black mask. A look of fear washed over him and the man quickly falls down to his knees. He looked frantically down at me, his hands quivering as he tried to figure out what to do.

"Nightwing..." I murmured, my words catching as a cough erupted from my throat. Nightwing's eyes softened behind his mask and he hesitantly placed his gloved hands on my arms. Pain flies out from my wings and into my spine. Nightwing winces and mumbles an apology as he tries to lift me as delicately as possible. He places my upper body over his legs and cradles my neck in between his calloused hands.

"I'm so sorry!" He apologizes quickly before looking frantically over my body. "What can I do to help?" He asks. Before I can respond another cough reaches my lips, and a warm metallic taste reached my lips. Quickly, I turn my face to the side and a warm red liquid dribbles from my mouth in another fit of coughs.

Nightwing's arms cradled me steadily as he looks down at me, his strength radiating from behind his tensed muscles. There's a tare in one of the wings of his mask and bloody scratches litter his uniform. I should be worried about what's going on around me, but I'm entranced by the sight of the man above me. His dark locks curve his pale face and I wonder the color of his eyes. They're blue, I imagine.

The euphoria is interrupted when another strike of pain runs through my body and silent tears begin to stream down my face. Suddenly I remember something. "Is-is Flash okay?" I ask, my throat catching as I struggle to breathe.

"He's okay. He's okay," Nightwing repeats, his words catching in his mouth with tears. His eyes search my face frantically and I'd wish anything to see their beautiful color. My, I hope they're blue. I smile up at him, my eyes sparkling against the morning sky. The sun is just beginning to rise. A warm breeze passes over us, and I shiver. The thick liquid fills my throat again and I sputter out in pain. It's becoming harder and harder to breath. Suddenly the sky looks darker. My eyes slowly close.

I don't notice Nightwing begin to shake me frantically. "Delmira. Delmira, please, don't close your eyes. You have to stay awake. Del..." His voice begins to fade. My eyes flitter closed. "Delmira please..."

And suddenly the sky begins to fade, and the pain is no longer there.

**Have fun with the cliff hanger! :D**


	33. Chapter 32 Silence

They had saved the world from total destruction, but the cost was too much. Silence filled the air. Patterns of gray and pale blue danced across the polar landscape. A green bow lay dejected across the ice and fragments of a machine speckled the icy floor. The harsh arctic breeze whipped around the face of a young woman, who had fallen to her knees on the icy tundra. The woman shivered in the snow, her face drenched with frozen tears. Strands of blonde hair fell from her pony tail, covering her tear drenched face. Quiet sobs fell from her lips as another heroine in a navy cape clutched her quivering body. Six others stood around her, grief stricken. The young woman had just lost the one thing that had mattered the most to her. Of all the days, it was their anniversary. "He wanted me to tell you… he loved you."

Yards away, a young man was pounding on an invisible barrier that was keeping him away from those he loved. He cried out to communicate to them that he was still there, still alive and okay. But they didn't hear him. So he began to beat frantically against the barrier, but it was to no avail. The tinder skin on his knuckles split and his fists slowly began to cover in blood. Suddenly, a blast of electricity shocked him, sending him to his knees. The electricity flailed and sputtered around him, creating a wave of bright white light. Reluctantly, he cried out in anguish before the light overtook him once again and he vanished.

Wally woke up startled. The speedster clutched desperately at his chest as he tried to calm his racing heart. His limbs tingled with static at the reminder of the electricity that pulsed through his body so long ago. His breath was rugged and uneven, causing his chest to heave like a buoy in midst of an ocean storm. For a moment Wally thought that he was back there, back at the place that still haunted him in his dreams. But as he looked around at his small unit at the Watchtower, he realized he was safe. At least, he was safe for now.

The speedster slowly pulled himself up on shaky arms. He groaned as he clutched his head. It felt like he'd just been hit by a truck.

The doors of his room slid open. M'Gann's eyes widened as she saw that Wally was awake and sitting up. The Martian made her way over and sat down on the edge of his bed.

Wally looked away. "Wha-what happened?" He asked hesitantly, dreading the answer. M'Gann's auburn eyes softened. "What's the last thing you remember?" She asked.

Wally stared down at the white sheets of his bed. "A fight. Wounded. Delmira… falling out of the sky." Wally, Nightwing, and Delmira had almost escaped until Wally let one of Savage's goons get the drop on him. He'd been wounded, unable to fight. Wally remembered seeing the panic flash through Delmira's eyes as she rushed to his side. Like an idiot, he'd told her to leave his side and stick to the mission. And like a good soldier, she'd listened. He acclaimed her for her valor. And when she had sprouted those wings, it was like he was seeing an angel before his own eyes. He remembered seeing her soar off into the sky before he blacked out. The next thing he knew she was falling. Oh God, the anguish he'd heard from her beautiful lips was like a razor blade to his heart. The teleporter had overpowered her, but still she had had the strength to obtain the link device they needed to return home.

Wally remembered struggling to his feet and helping Nightwing carry Delmira's broken body to the closing portal. They'd made it to the portal just in time. Then everything else went by in a blur. Panicked voices, Delmira's screams of pain, the smell of anesthetic. The last thing Wally remembered was collapsing in a chair at the infirmary and everything going black. "Delmira..." He whispered. "I have to see her," he declared, as he used the little amount of strength he had to try and push himself up from his bed. M'Gann was quick to stop him by lightly pushing him back down to rest on his pillow.

"No," she said firmly.

Wally's eyes widened. "M'Gann! I have to see her," he implored, attempting to get up once again.

"Wally, the best thing you can do for her right now is get better. I promise you, Delmira will be okay," she assured. Wally hesitated, but slowly, he leaned back and after a few moments, his eyes closed and he fell back asleep. M'Gann sighed dismally and looked down at her folded hands. Would Delmira really be okay?

Nightwing sat in the waiting chair at the infirmary. His back was contorted over and his black hair fell limply in front of his eyes as he stared blankly down at the white tiled floor. He fiddled a small orange ipod in one of his calloused hands. He'd ripped his gloves off to try and stop Delmira's bleeding. Her blood was all over his hands, under his fingernails, on his sleeves. Nightwing had chased after Delmira as they pulled her away from him and into the operating room. The orderlies had had to force him back and give him a sedative just to calm him down and get his wounded arm into a sling.

So now he sat, waiting for the nurse to rush in at any moment and tell him everything was okay. And more importantly, for her to tell him that Delmira was okay. Until that moment, he waited. He leaned over with clenched hand, his face concealed, overpowered by the various feelings coursing through his soul, and trying by prayer and reflection to calm his pounding heart.

His body felt so hollow and under his mask were dark circles from lack of sleep. He hadn't slept since they'd left in that time machine two days ago. He couldn't. Every time he closed his eyes he imagined Delmira. Her body flying through the sky and crashing against the ground of the clearing. Her wings laying broken and bloody as her eyes reflected the beautiful colors of the rising sun. He remembered crying out for her as she crumbled in his arms.

The eldest Robin shivered. If only he had been there to catch her. Nightwing grasped Delmira's ipod tighter before hearing footsteps approach him. He stood up quickly when he saw Delmira's nurse approach him. "How is she?" He asked urgently.

The nurse gave him a pitiful smile and slowly placed her hands in the pockets of her scrubs. "They're doing the very best they can, but it's a complicated procedure. Because of her healing ability, her body continuously wants to repair, but it's not strong enough to push out the bullet, which is lodged into the upper part of her spinal column. The doctors are working as quickly as possible to extract the bullet before the new bone grows over. However, the bullet hit the Posterior Median, which separates the two posterior funiculi. In easier terms, if the bullet isn't extracted correctly, Miss Delmira could never walk again." Nightwing's shoulders slumped in defeat and his heart felt like it was going to pound straight out of his chest. "Either way, Miss Delmira is going to lose her wings." The nurse offered a smile. "We're just lucky that you were able to get her here so quickly. I'll keep you updated if anything changes." The nurse put a reassuring hand on his shoulder before walking away.

The young detective let out a long sigh and rain his good hand through his dark black locks before falling back into his chair. He clenched the ipod tightly in his hand and pressed his fist to his lips. The sling that held his wounded arm up suddenly felt so much tighter.

Seconds, minutes, or hours could have passed in the operating room. Nightwing hadn't moved from his position in that chair. He was deep in thought when he felt a firm hand clench his shoulder. "Don't worry kid. If there's one thing I know about Delmira, it's that she's a fighter." He looked up. Green Arrow stood above him with a light smile on his face. Nightwing stood quickly, brushing off Green Arrow's hand and clenching his fists. Green Arrow took a step back. "Why do you care? You don't know her. She's nothing to you but a burden," Nightwing spat and walked off.

Green Arrow closed his eyes and sat back in the chair Nightwing had just occupied. He ran his hands through his hair, knocking back his dark green hood to reveal a head of blond hair. The first boy wonder had just started to heal from what happened to someone he had held very dear to his heart, and now this. The archer had heard about what happened to Batgirl and he was trying his best to understand how scared Nightwing must be. First his parents, then Jason, Barbara, and now Delmira. It seemed the boy just couldn't get a break. Green Arrow knew. With the hero business came sacrifice, but it seemed that Batman's protégé was having to sacrifice a lot lately. From Green Arrow's perspective, it was beginning to feel like everyone Nightwing cared about got hurt. He narrowed his eyes before walking off to talk to a certain bat about a certain family member of his.

Darkness. Darkness. Only Darkness. I could see nothing else. My footsteps echoed in an empty room. "Hello?" I asked, stepping into a pale, white light. My voice echoed and from the shadows, a man came into the light. "My dear Delmira. How nice of you to join us." He said, a twisted smile reaching his lips. Blood oozed from his jagged teeth.  
"You!" I screeched, pointing a quivering finger at the man standing before me.

"What? Surprised to see us?" Two figures emerged on each side of the man. Shadows covered their faces, but I knew who they were. Burns covered them, deforming their bodies and leaving twisted, red scars. My parents. "Delmira. Why didn't you save us?" They chimed, stepping closer and knocking me over in fear. "Why didn't you save us, Delmira. Why? Why?" They repeated.

"Yes, my dear. Why didn't you save them?" The man asked, stepping closer to lean over me. I shuddered away. His breath smelled like liquor and when he pulled back, his face changed. "You…" I whispered, my voice quaking. "Where am I?"

"Why, don't you know, filth?" He asked, stepping closer. I tried to look down, but he wrenched my face back up, hooking his nails into my cheek bones and squeezing. I swallowed back a cry.

The man smiled and looked down. I felt something warm and sticky cover my hands. My eyes widened before they slowly drifted down. Blood covered the floor. I felt a sharp pain in my back and fell forward onto my stomach. The blood. It was mine.

The monster stepped back and the three figures faded away.

"You're dead," he whispered.

The pale light faded away until I was in complete and udder…

Darkness.


	34. Chapter 33 In the Darkness Before

Nightwing was still in his seat at the outside of the operating room. The artificial lights of the medical wing made his head spin after so many hours without sleep and the disinfectant was starting to seep through his clothes. He'd gone toe to toe with Slade multiple times, and yet it seemed he was more sore now, hunched over in a plastic chair, then he had been then. The vigilante began to hear strained voices from one of the operating rooms. Nightwing sat up slowly, his muscles tugging with tension as he strained his ears to hear what was going on in the other room. Nightwing took a step closer, fearful of where the noise was coming from. A nurse rushed out of a set of double doors and the young hero caught a glance at the inside.

A team of surgeons rushed around the room, frantic to save the life of the person currently on the table. One of the men in green scrubs blocked Nightwing's line of sight and he took a step forward, trying to see. The man's feet shifted, and Nightwing saw a head of golden hair splayed across the table. His heart jerked and began to pump, like a drum on a war call. The doctors began to race around the room. The machine on the wall began to flat line.

"We're loosing her!" The head surgeon shouted. "Charge the defibrillator to 200 Joules." He commanded.

"Charging," the woman next to him said before handing him the device. The doctor quickly placed the defibrillators on the patient's chest.

"Clear." The electricity surged through the medical devise and into the heart of the young blonde. Her chest jolted upwards before falling back onto the bed. The man blocking Nightwing's vision shifted, revealing the young woman to be a certain blonde warrior very close to his heart. The green line on the machine jolted before turning back to a flat line. Nightwing rushed through the doors of the operating room until one of the assistants caught sight of him.

"Sir, you can't be in here," a nurse said, pushing him back with her hands. Nightwing continued to walk forward, ignorant to the small woman pushing him backwards. "Sir, you can't- Can I get a little help over here?" The nurse called out and two men turned quickly to assist her.

That aroused something in the young vigilante and he rushed forward, eager to be close by Delmira's side. He wasn't going to lose her. Not again.

"Delmira!" he shouted, trying to pull away from those holding him back. "Delmira!"

The dark haired hero was incredibly strong and soon others began to approach, throwing him back toward the doors. Still, the hero pushed forward. Their grips began to weaken until someone much stronger laid a hand on him and reeled him backwards. Soon he was outside of the doors and the nurses and surgeons locked the door behind them and set to work once again. Nightwing watched the doors for a moment before jerking away from the hand on his shoulder. The retired boy wonder reeled backwards, intending to attack whoever had pulled him away. But he jerked to stop when he saw a familiar black mask and an unreadable expression.

"We need to talk," the graveling voice said. Nightwing had raised his fist without even realizing it, and slowly, he uncurled it and set it back down to his side.

"What do you want… Bruce."

The two vigilantes now stood in the Batcave, under the foundation of the Wayne Manor. This was the only place where they could talk without fear of being heard. "Alright Bruce, you dragged me down here. What do you want?" Nightwing asked impatiently, his face now free from the obstruction of his mask. Batman narrowed his eyes, but didn't say anything, choosing to ignore his young pupil's hostility.

"I need you to take a step back from the situation with the girl from Zimbabwe," he said plainly. Nightwing's eyes widened.

"What're you talking about?" He staggered.

"Nightwing, you know what I'm talking about," the dark knight stated. "Ever since that girl came to the Watchtower, your judgment has been clouded and you've been letting her dictate your actions."

"No, I haven't!" Nightwing said, his voice rising an octave.

"You don't believe me, let's look at some footage shall we?" He didn't wait for a response, and instead took a step back to type something on his computer. A surveillance tape from the Watchtower appeared. The camera zoomed around the gym before landing on two people standing in the boxing ring in the middle. The girl stood hesitantly near the corner of the platform as she focused on wrapping her hands, but she kept an eye on the man on the other side of the ring, watching him steadily through her golden hair. The man walked along the perimeter of the ring, trailing his fingers along the rope. He leaned against the ring and lifted his head up to reveal a smile and a black domino mask.

The man was Nightwing and the girl with the golden hair was Delmira.

The two made playful conversation before suddenly Delmira sprinted towards Nightwing, the braids in hair jolting out in random directions. Delmira threw a first toward her opponent and the dark haired hero sidestepped and threw her arm away. This knocked Delmira out of balance for a moment before she could correct her feet. Nightwing took this opportunity to send a sharp kick toward her direction. His heel swiped the side of her face, but she remained virtually untouched. Before the former Robin could retract his foot, Delmira snatched it and used her hold to throw him to the ground.

But Nightwing didn't fall onto the mat like Delmira had wanted him to. He was an acrobat after all, a little waver in balance wasn't enough to send him sprawling. It was too late to correct his footing, but he managed a couple of back flips from the mat. He then stood straight.

Angered, Delmira ran back toward Nightwing, closing the gap between them. Nightwing used this new proximity to his advantage and was able to grab a hold of Delmira's wrist and yank her towards him.

Their bodies collided. Sweat glistened down their faces, their chests rising and falling as they tried to catch their breath. Delmira's back pressed tightly to Nightwing's chest as he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "You didn't think you could escape so easily did you?" He growled, his voice gruff from the exercise.

A breathy laugh escaped Delmira's lips as she craned her neck to look back at him. "Perhaps this is where I want you," she purred, twisted her arm back. In one swift motion she was away from him, and swung a leg out to knock him off his feet. But Nightwing was a soldier. There was no way he was going down without taking her with him. So that's what he did.

As he loses his balance and falls to the mat, Nightwing grabs Delmira's elbow and sends her sprawling on top of him. The two land in a heap in the boxing ring. Nightwing's hand had slipped to the bare skin of Delmira's hip and a bright red blush reaches her face, which can, surprisingly, be seen through her mask. The two lean forward before the camera shuts off and switches to another room in the Watchtower.

It's at the docking station for the Bioship. The footage shows Nightwing talking to Robin and the Team after what happened to Delmira in London only a few days ago. When the footage starts to show Nightwing yell at Robin, Nightwing looks away, ashamed of what happened.

He knows now that he shouldn't have yelled like that to Tim. He shouldn't have blamed him. But when he heard about Delmira, when he thought he'd lost her, he hadn't been able to control his anger. And he had ended up lashing out at his younger, adoptive brother for a problem he couldn't have prevented.

The video footage shuts off. The batcomputer flashes the bat insignia before going blank. Nightwing looked back at his ex-mentor, his teeth clenched. "You were spying on us?"

"I'm Batman," he said plainly, as if the reason for his snooping was justified. "It's my job to know what's going on in the Watchtower."

Nightwing scoffed and turned away, his one good hand perched tightly on his hip. "It's your job," he muttered. "Your job." The young hero paced back and forth, muttering to himself as Batman stood there patiently and waited.

There's a long moment of silence before, "You shouldn't have put her out in the field in the first place."

"What, you don't think she can handle herself out there? Because trust me, Bruce. She's got a fight in her that I've never seen before."

Batman let out a calloused laugh. "You seem to confuse bravery with belligerence."

Nightwing clenched his jaw, biting back a remark he might later regret.

"That girl has no restraint on her powers. No self-control. She gets angry and she snaps, loses every aspect of control that people like her need to have."

"People like her?" Nightwing shouted, his anger bubbling up to the surface.

"Yes, Nightwing. People like her. People who are given power they don't deserve and can't control."

"That's why I've been training her, helping her control that rage."

"You think that'll help?" Batman asked caustically. "No amount of training can help that girl."

"I don't believe that," the young hero said, still holding on to the faith that his friend wasn't beyond saving.

A memory he'd been trying so hard to forget flashed through his mind. "I already gave up on Jason," Nightwing thought. "I'm not giving up on her too."

"After she wakes up, that girl will be staying in the Watchtower where I can keep an eye on her. Do you understand?"

There was a long silence. Batman, believing he had broken his former protégé into agreeing, turned away.

"No," Nightwing whispered, his voice so low it was on the borderline of a growl. "I'm not giving up on her that easily."

Intrigued, Batman turned back to look at his ward. "Don't tell me…" he asked mockingly. "You actually care for her?" He asked, his voice a mix of disgust and disappointment. "Nightwing…" he said slowly, as if about to chastise a child.

Nightwing bit his fingernails into the skin of his palm, trying to remain silent. "You're not supposed to let your feelings get in the way," Batman started to explain, but then was quickly cut off.

"Of what? Bruce?" He asked. "The mission? You know, maybe the mission's changed. Maybe I don't want to follow the mission anymore. And for the love of God," he barked. "Stop calling me Nightwing, okay? We're not on a mission here, Bruce. It's Dick. My name is Dick."

"You let your feelings for that girl get in the way," the dark knight said, ignoring what Dick had just said. It took everything in the former Robin not to lash out.

"So what if I let my feelings get in the way? Is that always such a bad thing?" He asked, trying to steady his pounding heart. "You know, we can't all just cast away our emotions like you can Bruce. You think that love is weakness, Bruce but it's not. It's strength." Dick paused and looked up at Batman through shuttered blue eyes. "Of course, what would you know?" He asked bitingly. "You've cast away every person that's ever loved you, like yesterday's trash. Though that doesn't surprise me, given what you did to Batgirl."

Suddenly Batman lashes out, sending a sharp kick toward Nightwing's face. In his anger, Nightwing is caught off guard and struggles to recover from the blow. With one hand free and the other in his cast, the dark haired hero attempted to fight back, but not even he could last long against the Batman. In a matter of moments, Dick is knocked to the floor. Bats screech from the cave and fly off into the night, disturbed by the skirmish.

"You used to last longer in combat with me…" Batman said, his voice forthright. He nodded to the large patch of gauze on Dick's side, no doubt covering a heavy wound. "And you wouldn't have gotten that if you had your head in the game instead of worrying about that girl. And she wouldn't be in the hospital right now if you hadn't put her there in the first place."

The control Dick had on his anger vanished and with a cry the young man attempted to lash out. But Batman sent him back to the floor. The dark knight looked down on his former protégé disappointedly before slowly walking away.

Dick's breath was jagged as he tried to calm his racing heart. A long bead of sweat slid from his forehead and into a new cut the young hero had received in the recent fight with Batman. The muscles in his back were tight and he could already feel the face wound begin to swell. It took a moment for him to realize his phone was ringing.

"Yeah?" He asked, pressing the slick black device to his ear.

There was a pause before someone on the other line began to talk excitedly.

"I'll be right there." Nightwing stood up slowly and placed his domino mask back over his eyes before walking over to the transporter. He stepped in, but before he could be whisked back to the Watchtower, he took one last look at his former mentor, someone who he thought early on as his father.

Nightwing was relieved when he heard the news that Delmira had safely pulled through surgery. He'd been so scared that he'd never see her again. Never again see a smile on her lips, never a gleam in her eyes. Never hear her laugh again. But she was laying in front of him now. Safe, breathing, alive. But it wasn't smooth sailing from here on out. The nurse had made sure to tell him that there would still be problems further down the road. With the injuries she'd sustained, the doctors and surgeons had had no choice but to remove her wings, thus ending her ability to fly. The source of Delmira's powers were a mystery, but if they had to guess, they also believed that that meant she would no longer be able to communicate with any aerial species because of this.

The medical staff had made sure to tell him of the lengthy rehabilitation process Delmira would have to go through. "But the emotional damage, that might take much longer, and still, Miss Delmira might not ever be the same. You need to be aware of that," a nurse told him as he took a seat in the chair beside Delmira's hospital bed. He nodded. He knew that one thing Delmira cared more about than doing the right thing, was having the ability to communicate with other animals. They were her family and Dick knew that.

"Don't worry," he said, looking down at Delmira's sleeping form with softened eyes. He picked up one of her hands and laced his fingers through hers. Her hands were so small compared to his. "I'll be there for her."

The nurse smiled as she held her clip board tighter to her chest. "I'll leave you some time with her," she said, leaving the room and shutting the glass sliding door behind her. Nightwing's eyes followed her for a brief moment before looking back at Delmira.

His arm still in the sling, he let his good hand drift away from Delmira's for a moment to tuck a loose piece of blonde hair behind her ear. He smiles sadly.

"I was so afraid I would lose you," he admits, his voice hoarse with emotion. He took a shuddering breath and looked back down to join their hands again. He traced circles in the back of her hand with his calloused thumb, brushing over the delicate scars scattered on her knuckles. He didn't realize until now how afraid he had really been of losing her.


	35. Chapter 34 The Dawn

**Author's Note: Fair warning, you guys are going to hate me after this chapter. Lol.**

**Please enjoy.**

_"Let it all go" by Birdy_

Lights shimmer around me. Birds sing and flutter against the trees. My bare feet crunch against the dirt path as a cool breeze passes over me, pushing my blonde hair to the side. It's beautiful. It's peaceful. It's serenity. The different kinds of birds create a beautiful harmony among the canopy of trees.

But then the wind picked up and a black cloud floated across the sky, blocking the sun from dancing through the trees. When I looked up, the sky was suddenly dark. The temperature dropped and I wrapped my arms around my body. The wind whipped my hair painfully around my face and the trees bent until it looked like they might break. I covered my eyes with my hands to try and protect them from the onslaught of leaves. A black bird flew from the trees, screaming as he flew toward me and scratched my bear arms with his talons. I cried out and soon more black birds flew towards me, scratching any bare skin that they could find. I hunkered down and pressed my face into my hands.

But the birds kept coming, screeching as they clawed at my back, tearing open the tender flesh. I cried out, begging the birds to stop, but they didn't listen. Soon, a whole swarm was flying around me, creating a tornado of black feathers, blocking out the light.

The darkness began to warm, a subtle crimson brightness beyond my eyelids. I tried to lift my hands up to claw the birds away but my hands wouldn't move. Panic began to fill my heart, and I pulled harder and harder, but something had them locked in place. Panic raced along my nerves, and I cried out in terror. Someone shouted something through the haze and my body suddenly snapped forward.

I forced my eyes to open, but I couldn't see anything through the harsh fluorescents. All I could feel were the black birds, clawing at my skin. "Delmira!" My arms flew toward the voice in panic, but it had my arms locked in place. I struggled against the tenacious grip, pounding my fists into the voice's chest to let me go. "Delmira, it's me!" The voice shouted.

I paused. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, and I saw, not a black bird, but a bright blue bird staring back at me. I looked up to see Nightwing, a concerned look plastered across his handsome features. My heart slowed, and the panic slowly faded from my nerves. Nightwing hadn't changed from his torn uniform from the battle, and still wore the mask with the tear at the corner of the left wing. There was a tear on one of his forearms, a couple across his abdomen, and a small one across the blue bird on his chest, dangerously close to his heart. Dried blood remained around the frays. The only difference now was that the arm that had hung limply to the side before was now wrapped in a white sling.

Somehow, seeing his wounds brought something out of me. Tears began to stream down my face and I buried my head in his chest, soiling his armor. Nightwing shifted before easing into my touch. He placed his good hand behind my head. "Shh," he cooed. "It's going to be okay," he said, flattening down my golden hair. "It's going to be okay."

I released my hold on the former boy wonder and looked up at him. He smiled down at me as I leaned back into the bed of my pillow. I sniffled as Nightwing handed me a tissue.

"Thank you," I murmured, taking the tissue and wiping the tears from under my eyes. "I don't know why I'm like this. I've fought in battles before. Been hurt in battles before." Nightwing shifted from the corner of my vision and I looked up.

He was looking away from me, his smirk had slipped from his lips and a line appeared between his eyes as his forehead creased. He shot up from his seat, his eyes darting around the room. "'Wing?" I asked.

Nightwing looked back at me and his face went blank before he sat down at the chair next to my bed, ignoring the question. His appearance hadn't changed since the last time I saw him. In fact, he looked worse. His hair was unkempt and a slight shadow was appearing across his jaw. Even from behind his mask I could tell that he hadn't rested in days. Some dried blood was caked in his messy ebony hair.

"When I saw what happened to you," he whispered. His bad hand worked into a fist and sadness clouded his features. He let down a painful swallow. His throat was suddenly dry.

He slowly draped his good arm at my side, locking me in place. My heart beat quickened. He looked into my eyes, his gaze so piercing that I felt pressured to look away.

"I had been so afraid of losing you," he admitted. My breathing caught. He had been afraid of losing… me?

How was I supposed to respond to that? Nightwing's gaze remained. My heartbeat quickened. The room was silent, but all I could hear was the beating of my heart fill the hospital room. I grabbed his hand, which was draped at my side, and ran my fingers across the back of it. His fingers had such a sandpaper feel.

"I-I don't know what to say," I told him.

As he curled his fingers around my hand in response he looked into my eyes, a more natural smile taking the place of his cocky, sarcastic smile I'd seen so often before. "Don't say anything," he crooned.

The smile slowly faded from his lips, covering up the perfect line of white teeth. His gaze drifted slowly from my eyes back to my lips. I tucked my bottom lip between my teeth and took in a staggering breath. My heart hammered in my chest as he leaned in… closer… closer…

But then someone cleared their throat and I begrudgingly pulled away. Nightwing leaned away from me and looked up at the doorway. My eyes slowly lifted as the dark haired hero leaned back in his seat, his calloused hand slowly leaving mine.

Wally stood in the doorway, his green eyes narrowed at us. I perked up, happy to see my friend okay and well.

"Wally!"

"Wild Flower," he responded, nodding at me before glaring back at Nightwing. "I need to talk to you."

Nightwing looked back at me before nodding and following Wally out the door.

After a few moments, my eyes began to droop. The adrenalin from the nightmare and Nightwing's presence had faded and I began to realize how tired I was. What had happened that had left my body so drained? I closed my eyes for a moment before deciding to ease back and lay down.

I was almost asleep when I heard shouting from outside my room. My eyes creaked open and through the clear sliding doors, I saw Nightwing and Flash in a heated conversation outside my room.

"She'd be doing a lot better if you had been paying attention," Nightwing stated, his voice cold.

Wally's eyes went round. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know perfectly well what that means!" Nightwing claimed, fisting his good hand and setting his jaw to glare down at the redheaded speedster.

"Oh, so you want to play the blame game, do you? Okay, let's play your game," Wally shouted. A muscle in his jaw twitched.

Nightwing ground his jaw and I noticed his hand clench and unclench, again and again. Wally ignored this and continued. "If you hadn't sent her on that mission, she wouldn't have been sent back in time and be in this spot right now. Or how about, if you hadn't gone against Batman's orders and taught her how to fight she wouldn't be going on any missions in the first place!" Wally threw his hands up in the air, looking around the medical wing dramatically before dropping his hands at his side. "Or what about," the redhead set his jaw and leaned in. "If you hadn't freaking told Batman about the mystical girl in Zimbabwe with the mysterious link to Green Arrow's family who was living right under out nose! And don't you dare tell me I could have gone against orders and not brought her here. You of all people know that when Batman tells you an order, you better damn well obey it!" Wally shouted, getting in Nightwing's face. He pressed a finger against Nightwing's chest, but the vigilante remained visibly unaffected.

"She's in this condition because of you." Wally growled before turning and walking away.

My eyes were shut. I didn't want to hear anymore. Nightwing must have figured I heard something, because I heard his quiet footsteps approach my door before stopping. He took in a shuttering breath before slowly turning away. I guess he assumed I had fallen asleep because I was turned away from him. But in reality, I had heard every word.

Tears streamed silently down my face and my lip quivered. I felt so empty inside.

What had happened to me after I'd fallen?


End file.
